On The Verge Of Something Wonderful
by DKM
Summary: FINISHED 11 14 07 When over a foot of snow strands Lindsay in Manhattan over Christmas, Danny is there to save the day, taking her to Staten Island to spend the holiday with his family. But that doesn’t mean they’ll have stress free Christmas.
1. Chapter 1

**_On The Verge Of Something Wonderful (fka Let It Snow)_**

By: DKM

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Danny/Lindsay

Season: Post 2, before 3

Synopsis: Christmas is all about spending time with the people you love, but when Lindsay Monroe gets stranded in Manhattan and can't get home to Montana, Danny Messer is there to save the day, taking her to Staten Island to spend the holiday with his family. But that doesn't mean they'll have a stress free time. Fate has plans for them.

Author's Note: I'm just in that mood right now… Its Christmas time and I've got my heart set on a cute little love story between our favorite couple. Hehe! Definitely a nice change from the horror show I played for you guys with "If Tomorrow Never Comes." I hope you enjoy this one as much as you enjoyed that one, though!

Disclaimer: You know the drill… Not mine. Just having some fun here. Not making any money off it, although I should. LOL! Just kidding!

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"Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful…" The radio in the lab was on today, and Danny Messer was in a good mood, humming along with the Christmas song as he tried to focus on his work. But his focus waned from the microscope to the upcoming holiday only a day away. He was excited to go home and see his family for the first time in a month. Work had been keeping him away, his caseload almost too much to bear, but he worked through it, slowly, passing off as much as he could to whoever could help.

"And since we've no place to go, let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!" Danny softly sang as he whipped back to his work and took down a few notes.

Lindsay Monroe sat beside him, her chocolate brown eyes rolling as she too tried to focus on work. Unlike her colleague, she wasn't in such a good mood this holiday season. With New York City under almost two feet of snow and more on the way, every flight back to Montana had been cancelled, and there was no way she'd be getting on a bus or a train since all tickets had sold out months in advance. Having missed Thanksgiving, Lindsay felt obligated to go home for Christmas this year, but the prospect became bleaker and bleaker as more snow fell onto the city streets. "Will you shut up already? You're so off key it hurts my ears," she finally barked when she'd had enough of his good mood.

Danny's head snapped up, his sapphire blue eyes staring at her in shock and surprise. "What's wrong, Montana?" he teased, calling her by the nickname he'd given her the first day the met. There was a half smile on his lips as he added, "You get on Santa's naughty list this year or something?"

"You're such an ass," Lindsay grumbled under her breath as she returned to her work.

"Hey, I heard that," Danny replied, still grinning as he watched her.

"Good," she shot back, her mood still as foul as ever after finding out that this might be the first time she'd spend Christmas away from her family.

Quickly sensing her bad mood, Danny dropped his teasing and decided to take a more sensitive approach. "I'm just trying to make you feel better," he said, knowing where her anger stemmed from. It didn't take a genius to figure out her plans had been ruined with the snow storm outside. "I know how much it sucks to be away from family on Christmas."

"I bet you do," Lindsay replied in an uber-sarcastic tone as she threw down her pen and started to make her way towards the door. This was the last place she wanted to be right now. All the Christmas cheer was making her sick.

But Danny wasn't having any of her hissy fit. He stood up, effectively blocking her exit as he caught her by the arms and held her where she stood. Lindsay struggled to release herself from his hold, but he was too strong for her. "Hey, Linds, calm down. I'm sorry you're stuck here on Christmas, but you don't have to take it out on me."

Her shoulders slumped forward and the rest of her body went slack when Lindsay realized what she'd done. "I'm sorry," she mumbled her apology, her eyes staring down at her shoes. "It's just… I missed Thanksgiving and now I'm missing Christmas. I wanna see my family "

Danny began to feel bad. He'd been in such a good mood that he didn't notice just how hurt it made her feel. He gently rubbed her shoulders as he replied, "Look, if you can't find a way home by tomorrow morning, why don't you spend Christmas with my family?" Lindsay gave him a quizzical look and he added, "Seriously, I'll come pick you up wherever you are, airport, train station, bus depot, and I'll take you to Staten Island with me, that way, at least you're with a family for Christmas, even it if isn't your own."

"You're too kind, Danny, but I think I'll be able to find a way home, somehow," Lindsay was trying to reassure herself more than she was him.

"Offer's still on the table. Just call me, okay?" he said with one of his trademark grins that almost seemed to make her heart melt as he let go of her arms. That was Danny Messer for you; always the knight in shining armor.

Lindsay warmly smiled back at him as she headed out of the lab towards the locker room. "I think I'm gonna leave early today. I'm hoping someone dropped off the waiting list somewhere," she called over her shoulder.

"Alright, good luck," Danny answered back. He watched Lindsay saunter away slowly, her head down and her hands in her pockets. He felt bad for her, especially since she was so far away from home in a place that she barely knew. It broke his heart to see her, or anyone else for that matter, so sad on such a joyous occasion. The least he could do was offer her some hope, which is exactly what he'd done by extending her the invitation to join his family that year.


	2. Chapter 2

"So you've got nothing?" Lindsay asked the woman at the ticket counter in Grand Central Station, her eyes already shining with fresh tears. She'd been there for the last twelve hours, waiting, hoping that by some stroke of luck, she'd find herself on the next train home. But that wasn't going to happen. It was already six in the morning on Christmas Day and the last train was getting ready to board in fifteen minutes.

"Sorry, ma'am, but there are no tickets left. Everything's sold out because of the storm," the woman tried to let her down easy.

Without meaning to, a tear rolled down Lindsay's cheek when she nodded her understanding. The woman couldn't help but feel bad for her as she quickly wiped it away and left the ticket counter, her head down and her bags trailing behind her as she made her way towards the exit. This was definitely turning into one of the worst Christmases Lindsay ever had to endure. She wanted nothing more than to sit down and cry, but her ringing cell phone stopped her.

"Hello?" Lindsay answered with a sniffle, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"You're still in New York, aren't you?" Danny replied.

Lindsay sighed deeply, "Yeah."

"Where are you? I'm coming to pick you up," he said.

"Danny, you don't have to," Lindsay tried to stop him. She rather would have gone back to her place and spent Christmas by herself.

"I'm not taking no as an answer. Where are you, Montana? Grand Central?"

He was persistent, that's for sure. Lindsay had no choice by to say, "Yeah."

"I'll be there in five minutes." Danny hung up before she got a chance to protest again. She contemplated ditching him and just going home in a cab, but she knew that would only piss him off, so she stayed put and waited.

Lindsay dropped her luggage on the marble floor and sat down on top of her suitcase. She thought she'd be there for a while and tuned out the rest of the world, losing herself in her thoughts. The sadness quickly returned when she started to think about Christmases gone by with her family. Oh, how Lindsay wanted to be home right now. Her heart ached for parents and her siblings. How was she going to tell them she wouldn't be home this year? It was something Lindsay didn't want to think about, at least not right now. Only a short amount of time passed before she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Danny staring down at her with a wide smile gracing his handsome face. His grin was contagious, and before she knew it, Lindsay was smiling too.

"Merry Christmas, Montana," Danny said as he bent down and gave her a friendly hug.

"Merry Christmas, Danny," Lindsay replied. She snuggled into him, glad to have a friend around when she needed one. Letting go, she gave him the once over, taking stock of what he wore that morning. She'd been surprised to see the bright red Santa hat on his head that matched the bright red sweater with white snowflakes beneath his thick leather jacket. It made her nearly burst out laughing, but she restrained herself, instead saying, "Did you get attacked by Santa's elves?"

The look on Danny's face said it all. Not only had he turned as red as his shirt, there was also a glare present in his sapphire eyes. He stared Lindsay down for a moment before he answered, "Go ahead, laugh it up. This is the only time you'll ever see me look this stupid."

"Why did you wear that?" Lindsay couldn't help by ask.

"My mom," came Danny's sharp reply before he picked up her suitcase and started to walk towards where he parked his car.

Lindsay tagged along behind him, still laughing softy to herself. At least she wasn't the only one stuck in hell. "Aw, how sweet! Let me guess, she bought that for you last Christmas and now you're obligated to wear it this Christmas?"

"You're just full of 'em today, aren't you Montana?"

"What can I say? You're an easy target, literally. Slap a few white circles to your back and I think that bow and arrow set Mac gave me just might come in handy."

Danny gave her one of his more sarcastic laughs, ending the conversation then and there. He continued walking until they were outside, the snow still falling in large clumps that packed together on the ground, adding at least an inch or two every hour. A bright yellow snow plow passed, scraping up the past hours accumulation and spreading fresh salt on the road. Danny stopped in front of one of the department issued black Chevy Avalanches and unlocked the trunk then put Lindsay's suitcase inside as she climbed into the passenger's seat and waited for him.

Moments later, Danny took his place behind the driver's seat and started the engine. They were soon traveling down the FDR with the radio turned to one of the many stations that were preprogrammed to play Christmas music the entire day. Traffic was just as heavy as Danny expected, which is why he had decided to leave early, giving himself time to pick up Lindsay and get home before his mother started to worry.

Speaking of Lindsay… Danny glanced over in her direction to see she'd fallen asleep with her elbow resting against the window frame and her hand propping up her head, which gently rocked back and forth as the SUV made its way through the city streets. When they reached a red light, he delicately lowered her seat and took off his jacket, placing it over her body to keep her warm until they reached his parents' house. Danny couldn't help but smile. Lindsay looked so peaceful when she slept.

A drive that should have taken half an hour ended up taking an hour and a half. Somehow, Danny had managed not to let his frustration run rampant. He'd flipped several people the bird, but never once honked the horn or yelled, fearing he'd wake up Lindsay if he did. Plenty of people took their frustration out on him as well, but he placated them with just one of his angry glares, the same glares that Lindsay found funny and rolled her eyes at.

When he reached his parents' home, a quaint little beige two story, three bedroom, three bath house surrounded by snow covered pine trees all decorated with multi colored lights, Danny used all his pent up frustration to park the car as close to the garage as possible, leaving enough room for everyone else slated to arrive later on that day. Ever so gently, he opened the passenger's side door and lifted Lindsay off the seat, placing her arms around his neck and carrying her down the snow slicked drive until he got to the front door. It was a struggle to reach into his pocket and grab his keys, but Danny managed and opened the solid oak door complete with wreath and lights. The warmth and wonderful smell of Christmas dinner wafted his way and immediately put a smile on his tired face.

"Mama, I'm home!" Danny gently called to his mother as he wiped his feet on the mat in the foyer, still holding onto Lindsay as if she was a fragile package that could break if disturbed.

"Danny!" he heard his mother happily cry from the kitchen. The pitter patter of her feet echoed down the hall until she suddenly appeared in front of him. "Oh, my," she whispered, seeing what he held in his arms. "Is this…?"

"Yeah, this is Lindsay. She's been up all night trying to get back to Montana and fell asleep on the way here. Where can I put her down?" Danny asked, readjusting the sleeping woman in his arms for a better hold.

"Go put her in your room. Let her rest. She looks exhausted," his mother replied, moving out of the way to let him pass. She could see the dark circles under Lindsay's eyes and the smeared makeup. 'Poor thing,' she thought, shaking her head.

Danny headed up the stairs, carefully maneuvering through the hallway to keep Lindsay's head from bumping into a wall until he reached his old room at the end. Nothing had changed from the last time he'd been there. The room was still the same, painted navy blue with white pinstripes and baseball memorabilia hung all over the place along with trophies and photos of the years gone by. Even the navy blue comforter had remained the same, but probably washed several times to keep it clean. He carefully laid Lindsay on top of the comforter and took off her shoes and coat then used the other side to cover her.

"Sweet dreams," Danny whispered as he brushed a few strands of her caramel colored hair away from her face before he headed back downstairs to help his mother with whatever he could.

Walking down the hall, he paused in front of the next door; his brother's old room. For a moment, Danny contemplated going inside, but quickly pushed the thought out of his mind and started walking again. He'd deal with that later.

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I hope the cuteness of this fic isn't detracting those of you who like my dark side, hehe. Okay, so I've been a little busy to update. I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas. I love it because I get to spend time with my family and because I get presents (come on, who doesn't like that part of Christmas?! Don't even go there!!). I hate it because of the malls. Y'all know what I'm talking about... It's INSANE! Last minute Christmas shopping is a KILLER! LITERALLY! Several people have almost tried to kill me over stupid shit! Anyway, I'm happy to see you guys are enjoying this one. Definitely showing off my softer side in this fic. Lots of cute moments to come, along with a few tear jerkers. Just because I'm not writing a serious fic doesn't mean there isn't going to be something that makes someone cry. Hehe. You'll see what I mean soon enough (if you didn't get the hint at the end of this chapter...). Okay, onto the review responses:

NCISLOVER: Hi! Thanks for stopping by! I'm glad you like the story so far. Your review is much appreciated! Can't wait to hear from you again! Many thanks! Happy Holidays!

The Little Corinthian: Hi! Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! Thanks for taking the time and leaving me some feedback. I hope you liked this chapter too. :) Can't wait to see what you thought. Thanks again for the review and Happy Holidays!

chili-peppers: Hi, hon! Glad to see you stopped by and checked this one out too! Can't wait to see what you think of this chapter. Thanks for the review and have a great Holiday season!

mercy4vr: Hi! Thanks for stopping in and checking out my story! Reviews are always appreciated! Thank you so much! Can't wait to hear from you again. Happy Holidays!

Shelbers: LOL! I was listening to the song when I came up with the idea for this fic (yet again, another song inspires me. I've lost count of just how many songfics I've actually written... Amazing, huh?). Hehehehe, I'd love to go home with him too!! But, as you can see, Lindsay did end up going home with him, so, sorry! LoL! Anyway, thanks for stopping by and checking out this fic too! I really do appreciate it! Merry Christmas to you too! Stop by soon! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter.

prplerayne: Hehehehehe, pancake... You know, you GOTTA stop this! I can't concentrate!!!! LOL! I'd love Danny on my naughty list this year as well, but I doubt that's gonna happen! And there goes my thought process again... Danny and Naughty should not be allowed in the same sentence, just because I always LOSE MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT! Okay, what was I gonna say? Oh, now I remember! M&M moments abound in this fic!! Especially the end, but you already knew that. You've gotten a sneak peek! And there's gonna be more for you to look at soon enough, if I don't overdo it this Christmas with baking cookies and other sweet treats that I know you're gonna love. BTW, there's gonna be a nice basket of edible goodies with your presents this year, and I seriously want your opinion on them once you finish them. Okay, I'm gonna stop now, cuz this reply has gone on for long enough. I'll see you on AIM later anyway. :D

PRTFCSI: You know there's gonna be more coming soon! I can't not finish this fic! It's too cute!! And too fun to write! Hehe. Thanks for stopping in and checking it out. I always appreciate your reviews! (Psssst!! I finished the other one, just in case you missed it. :D) Happy Holidays!

drama-freak-csim: Hi! Thanks for stopping in and leaving me a review. Glad you're enjoying the story so far! Hehe, yep, Danny's a real sweetie in this one. I just had to include the little "Let It Snow" part in there because I thoguht it would add more sugar to the story, LOL! I hope you don't get a cavaty from reading this! Hehehehe. Can't wait to hear from you again! Your reviews are always appreciated! Happy Holidays!

Mandy1987: Hi! Thanks for the review! Much appreciated! Glad you're enjoying the story so far. I can't wait to hear what you though of this chapter. Happy Holidays!

Franniecat: Of course I'm writing another one! And I've got a forth coming soon, I just need to start it, lol! I thought we could all use some holiday cheer after the fic I just finished, hehe. There are plenty of cute M&M moments coming up in this fic. :D And maybe some mistletoe moments. ;) And I think you already got my answer about "Tomorrow." Hehe. Glad you're enjoying this fic! I always appreciate it when you stop by and leave me some feedback! Happy Holidays!

Leanne: Hey, hon! Thanks for stopping in and reviewing, even though you already know what's gonna happen, LOL! Can't wait to see what you think of the stuff I just sent you. :) Happy Holidays!

simbagirl: Hey, you! Good thing you discovered this story. :D I was wondering when I'd get a review from you. Hehe. Have a very Merry Christmas! I can't wait to hear what your thoughts were on this update. Talk to you soon!

The Lurkers: Big thanks to you guys too! Keep hitting up the story and I'll keep thanking you! You're the ones who deserve a huge thanks for just reading. I do appreciate it! Thank you! Happy Holidays!!

Hopefully my next update will come before the New Year. If it doesn't, I'm sorry, but I think we all know how hectic this time of the year can be. I'm already about to pass out, so I'd better quit while I'm ahead. Happy Holidays, everyone! And if I don't seen you sooner, Happy New Year!

More story coming soon!

-DK


	3. Chapter 3

The scent of roast turkey was what awoke Lindsay that afternoon. Her eyes remained closed as she rolled onto her back and slowly stretched out. For a moment, she thought she was home in Montana, sleeping off the remnants of her jet lag, but when she opened her eyes and saw the foreign surroundings, she knew she wasn't home, but instead at Danny's parents' house in Staten Island. But the big question on her mind was how she ended up here, in someone's bed, asleep.

Lindsay slowly sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, eyes surveying the room she was in. The first thing she noticed was the baseball memorabilia strewn across the walls followed by all the trophies and then the photos. Upon closer examination, she realized that she recognized a few of the people as Danny and his brother Louie. A smile appeared on Lindsay's lips as she stood and made her way towards the desk beside the bed. There were several picture frames lying on the wooden tabletop begging to be glanced at. She picked up one of Danny as a teenager in a baseball uniform, bat in hand, smiling with that cocky grin she loved to hate. Just as she put it down, the door opened.

"Finally, Sleeping Beauty is awake," Danny said, that same cocky grin from the photo appearing on his face as he leaned against the wooden door frame. He looked down at his watch and replied, "It's almost two and my mom was wondering if you were still alive up here."

"Yeah, I just woke up a few minutes ago," Lindsay answered, blushing slightly at the fact that he'd called her Sleeping Beauty. 'Great, another nickname to add to the list,' her mind chided. "Nice room," she said aloud.

Danny chuckled and replied, "My mom refuses to change it."

"A lot of trophies, I see," Lindsay continued to walk around the room, admiring all the stuff crammed into the small space. She stopped in front of the trophy shelf and read off a few of them, "Baseball, football, softball, hockey… jeez, Danny, what haven't you played?"

"Golf," he retorted, pushing himself off the doorframe and walking over to her as she continued to admire all the trophies. Danny was standing beside her when he added, "One sport I refuse to play. I tried once, but realized I had no patience for 18 holes. I'm alright with mini golf, though, and the driving range. Perfect for anger management; keeps me from getting too pissed off at some of the people we arrest."

"Good to know," Lindsay replied, inching away from him to take a seat on the bed so she could put her shoes back on. She noticed he'd taken off the embarrassing sweater and replaced it with a navy colored NYPD hoodie but had kept the bright red Santa hat.

"What?" Danny asked, seeing that she was staring at him.

"Nothing," she said, looking down to hide the smile on her face as she finished putting on her shoes. "Alright, Santa, lets go." Lindsay stood up, glad to have finally found a nickname to call him after all the ones he'd given her. Hey, it was only fair! At least, that's how she justified it.

Danny glared at her. He knew what she was thinking. The smile on her face didn't lie. Before he had a chance to give her a witty comeback, the doorbell rang and his mother yelled out, "Danny! Could you get that?"

"Yeah, ma!" he hollered back, quickly turning on his heels and heading down the hall. Lindsay followed, keeping her hands in her pockets as the rest of the cobwebs cleared from her mind. She felt much better now that she'd gotten some sleep. At least she could face the day with a little more holiday cheer than what she had this morning.

Lindsay continued to study her surroundings, picking out all the quaint little features that reminded her of her parents' house back in Montana. That one thought made her heart sink ever deeper when she realized she still hadn't called her parents to tell them that she wouldn't be home this year. She wasn't afraid to make the phone call; she just didn't want to hear the sadness in their voices. As Lindsay was about to pull out her cell phone, Danny opened the door to reveal two more members of his family, or so she thought.

"Izzy!" he practically shouted as he threw his arms around the petite, pretty young woman with dark brown, almost black hair and bright crystal blue eyes that stood at the door. She looked to be in her early to mid twenties wearing a long, black wool coat that stopped just short of her knees, a pair of tight, faded blue jeans and a cute little green Christmas t-shirt that accentuated every single one of her curves.

"Danny!" the brunette squeaked, hugging him back with the same intensity. "Oh, my God! Look at you! You haven't changed a bit since I last saw you, like, five years ago!" she added, pulling herself back to give him a once over.

"Look at you! You've grown up! And, my God, you musta lost fifty pounds! You look beautiful! You must be beating the boys off with a stick!" Danny joked as he let the young woman into the house. "Chicago has definitely been good to you."

"Speaking of boys, I want you to meet someone," Izzy said, sidestepping to her left to reveal the tall, lanky, dark haired, amber eyed young man wearing a short brown leather jacket and dark blue jeans that had accompanied her. "Danny, this is Matt Larson. We met during our junior year of college and we've been dating ever since."

"Please to meet you, Matt," he greeted the newcomer with a warm smile and an extended hand. Matt took his hand, relief present on his handsome face until Danny added, "I'm a cop, so you'd better be treating my little cousin good, because if you're not, I have no problem using my gun then hiding your body somewhere they'll never find it. I know more about forensics than you can possibly imagine." Terror became present in the poor man's amber eyes as the color drained from his face.

"DANNY!" Izzy smacked her cousin across the arm with her small black Coach bag, her eyes flaming with anger.

"Ow!" Danny let go of her boyfriend's hand and replied, "I was just joking!"

"Be nice!" she chided, but then her attention found its way to Lindsay. A new smile appeared on Izzy's face as she took stock of the woman she didn't recognize and asked, "Is this your new girlfriend?"

"No," Danny was almost too quick to respond. "This is Mont… Lindsay Monroe. She's the new girl at the crime lab." He caught himself before he mentioned Lindsay's nickname. Izzy knew what it meant when he gave a girl a nickname. Finding out now would be awful timing, especially after what he'd done to her boyfriend. She'd make his life a living hell, teasing him mercilessly until he finally broke down and told her everything. That was the last thing Danny wanted to do. No need to reveal any feelings he might have towards Lindsay, especially if he didn't think he could handle her reaction.

"Isobel Messer, Izzy for short; pleased to meet you." Izzy stuck out her hand before Danny could formally introduce them. She was the straightforward type of girl, never really sidestepping anything and always getting to the point.

Lindsay took her offered hand and shook it. "Lindsay Monroe," she replied, smiling politely even though she felt completely out of place. She could definitely sympathize with Matt right about now.

"So, how'd you end up spending Christmas with us?" Izzy continued her questioning. If she knew Danny well enough, this woman was his current object of affection, but he had yet to make a move and was testing the waters. She'd caught his slip up, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt for the moment, until she got the answers she wanted.

"Lindsay couldn't make it home to Montana, so I thought it would be nice for her to come over and spend the holidays with us," Danny spoke up before Lindsay got a chance to explain.

"Well aren't you the knight in shining armor!" Izzy replied, her smile turning devious. There it was, loud and clear, the sign she'd been looking for. Lindsay was Danny's new crush. Oh, the fun Izzy could have with this. "I'm surprised you haven't asked her out yet, Cuz." Shock was the first thing that registered on his face, followed by a deadly glare that only made her laugh out loud. "I was just joking!" Izzy mocked before throwing off her long, black wool coat, exposing the cute little green Christmas t-shirt and jeans she wore beneath it and tossing it into his arms as she walked towards the kitchen. "Come on, Mattie, my aunt's been dying to meet you." She grabbed her boyfriend's hand and practically dragged him towards the kitchen before he even got a chance to set down the guitar case slung over his shoulder or take off his coat. She'd planted the seed of self doubt, now it was time to gently water it and watch it grow.

Danny turned to Lindsay and found that puzzled look on her face from what his cousin had said. "Danny?" she started to ask before he quickly interrupted her with an explanation.

"Izzy is just trying to get back at me for what I said to her boyfriend," he said. "She loves to tease me. Don't take anything she says at face value." Lindsay merely nodded her head as Danny threw the coat into the closet beside the front door and started to make his way in the same direction as Izzy had. Lindsay followed, staying a few feet behind him with her head down and her hands in her pockets.

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I don't think I've ever said "HOLY SHIT!" more times than I have today. And I'm gonna say it again, because I've got a reason to... HOLY SHIT! 17 reviews for one chapter! DAMN! I'm beyond speechless. My jaw is just hanging there in mid air as I sit here with my aching back against a heating pad and stare at all these wonderful comments you guys have left me and I can't help but wonder, am I really doing that well?! I'm shocked! Stunned! WOW! I feel better now! Although I still hurt, which should be expected because that's what winter does to me... It tries to kill me with muscle pain. Oh well, nothing a nice pain killer and a few eps of CSI:NY can't fix! LOL!

I hope you all had a great holiday! I'm surprised I managed to finish any of this story after such a hectic few days, but I'm so glad I did! It couldn't wait until after the New Year, so I'm posting it now, cuz I'm that impatient and I know the rest of you are the same way, hehe! Anyway, onto the review replies!

Shelbers: I made sure to ice that last chapter with as much literary sugar as I could possibly find!! My goal in life: To give you guys cavaties from just reading this fic. LOL! I hope I've made part of that goal, because seriously, there's a lot more M&M candy coming up soon. Hehehe. I'm glad you liked the Yankee's touch. Personally, I'm a Chicago Cubs fan, so you can imagine how hard it was for me to write it. Hehehe. Thanks so much for the review! I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter. If I don't get the chance to post another chapter soon, Happy New Year!

catey123: Hi! Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the fic so far. I hope this new chapter was just as good as the rest. I hope it's to your liking. Anyway, thanks again for the review and have a Happy New Year! Hope to hear from you again soon!

NCISLOVER: Yay! I'm glad you liked it! Danny is definitely gonna be very sweet in this fic, as is Lindsay, just her sweetness comes out in later chapters, hehe. Thanks for the review and have a very Happy New Year!

tria246815: Hi! Thank you for the wonderful review! Much appreciated! Well, here's your update! Thanks for being so polite! Hehehe. I love it when people do that. :) Thanks again for the review and have a Happy New Year! Can't wait to hear from you again!

lyss02: Hi! Thank you for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! I hope you liked this last update. I can't wait to see what you think about it. Thanks again for reviewing and have a Happy New Year!

Leanne: Hey!! HAHA! I read your review and giggled. I should do that! It would be funny! Then I'd add my other beta into the mix and it would definitely be one hell of a crazy party, HAHA! Oh, god, my mind just did a 180 and turned that into a very dirty thought. I swear, I could get in trouble for thinking like this! I gotta stop! I lose my concentration! BTW, I'll be sending you some more story, because I did some editing that needs to be reviewed. I think you'll like it. More dialogue about Louie. Okay, must continue with the rest of the responses. I'll send you an email as soon as I can. Talk to ya later, thanks for the review, and have a Happy New Year if I don't get a chance to chat with you until then!

messermonroe: Welcome back! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! Yes, an update before New Year's, WOOHOO!! Hehehe, I just couldn't wait to post this chapter. I hope you liked it. :D Yeah, I definitely needed some sweetness after nearly killing Danny in "If Tomorrow Never Comes." Hehe. Aside from that, thanks for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying this story!

serenity2bliss: Hehe, awww, so sweet, huh? Yeah, Mama was surprised! LoL! But seriously, the sweetness never ends. There's a whole LOT more to come! I can't wait for your thoughts on this chapter. :D Thanks again for the review and I hope you have a very Happy New Year!

prplerayne: Yes, my resident smartass beta, another update! Hehehehe! Yes, you're getting EDIBLE GOODIES! And I'm not talking about the male kind! So stop the dirty thoughts before I fly over there and slap some sense into you after you give birth to that baby! Although, you are technically right... I rather do love Danny's more masculine side, hehehehehehe. DAMMIT! You're the second person to make me think dirty thoughts! DAMN YOU! Such a smartass... I'll give you smartass... GEODUCK!

chili-peppers: I'm so glad you liked that chapter. Danny's a real sweetheart, and his mother is sweet too! There's gonna be a lot more of her in later chapters, along with a whole LOT more D/L sweetness, hehehe. I'm definitely not gonna skimp on that stuff in this fic. Hell, after nearly killing Danny in the last one, it's damn well time for some sweetness! Hehehe. Thanks for the review! I really do appreciate it! Can't wait to see what you think of Izzy. Have a Happy New Year!

Mandy1987: Hehehehe, I had to make him look foolish at least once with that red shirt and hat! Haha! And I'm not gonna let up on it either, especially with the hat! I think I might have Lindsay call him Santa's Little Helper or Elf some time soon, just to get a rise out of him. :D That would definitely be funny! Ooh, and thanks for making that comment about Danny's mom knowing about Lindsay. Almost forgot to put that in the story! Thanks again for the review and have a Happy New Year!

InOvrMyHead4Life: I'm so glad you liked that chapter. Yep, Danny's got one hell of a big heart, especially when it comes to Lindsay, his family, and his closest friends. You'll get to see that soon enough, cuz that poor boy's going through the ringer, and believe me, Lindsay will be right there for him. Lots and lots of D/L cuteness coming your way! Thanks for the wonderful review! Have a Happy New Year if I don't post again!

PhyscoBlonde4eva: I love making people feel bubbly on the inside! I love that feeling myself! I need to read more of those fics, cuz seriously, I can't get enough! I'm addicted to that feeling! LOL! I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far, and don't you worry, the sweetness won't be ending any time soon! There are a lot more cute M&M moments on the way! Thanks for the review and I can't wait to hear from you again! Have a very Happy New Year!

PRTFCSI: Hehehehehehe, I can't stop giggling at your comment about Carmine in that hat and sweater... The hat I can see, but the sweater is a stretch, hehehehe. Although I really do think he'd look cute in a santa hat. OMG! There goes my mind again! You're the THIRD person to make me think really bad, dirty thoughts... LOL! Oh, but don't think you've done something wrong! I file these away from future reference, hehehe. Glad you're enjoying the story! Can't wait to see what you think of Izzy! Thanks again for the review and have a Happy New Year!

simbagirl: Hey!! I'm glad you loved this chapter, cuz in the future, I've got a feeling you'll love the story even more! LoL! Lots and lots and lots of wonderful Danny/Lindsay moments to come. As for Danny's brother... I hope you got my email about that and checked out that link I sent you. I don't think I could explain it as well as that, so hopefully you've got a sense of what happened to Louie. Anyway, thanks again for the review! Happy New Year!

The Little Corinthian: LOL! That's so cute! I loved what you said, "they're good for each other: he'll watch out for her, and she'll make fun of him." So true! Hehehehe. I'm glad you're enjoying the story! I can't wait to see what you think of Izzy. She's gonna play a big part in this story, especailly where Danny and Lindsay are concerned, hehehe. Thanks for that wonderful review! Much appreciated! Have a very Happy New Year!

Riva: Welcome!! And thank you for all the wonderful comments! I can't tell you how much they mean to me! I'm so glad you're finding my stories easy to read. That's my goal, to make them as easy to understand as possible, so that even those who can't speak the best English understands them. I'm a HUGE M&M fan myself. I think they make the cutest couple! Hehe. As for the thing about Danny's brother... There wasn't much explained in the show, so this is pretty much my take on it. I mean, you could look on the CBS website and see the episode recap of "Run Silent, Run Deep," because I think that'll give you a better description than what I have here. Anyway, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and I hope you have a very Happy New Year! Can't wait to hear from you again!

The Lurkers: Thanks, guys!! 1100 hits for only 2 chapters... Now that's amazing! Thanks so much, especially those of you who have come out of hiding and left a review. But those of you who haven't, no pressure! Thank you for taking the time to read! I appreciate it very very much! I hope you liked this chapter and can't wait for more! Hehe, lots and lots of M&M moments on their way!!

Thanks, again, guys, for reading my fic. I really really really do appreciate it! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!! And, just in case I don't get to see you until then, have a safe and happy New Year! More M&M sweetness coming soon, so stay tuned!!

-DK


	4. Chapter 4

Izzy's comment had affected them in different ways. Danny had been caught completely off guard by it, prompting his reaction. But Lindsay… She'd known for a while that he was into her, she just didn't think it was true. Now that she had her proof, she didn't know what to make of it. The timing couldn't have been more off. Maybe if this wasn't the worst Christmas she'd ever had to endure, maybe then she could handle it better. Lindsay had feelings for him as well, but there was no way she'd act on them now.

They reached the beautifully decorated kitchen with its stainless steel appliances and terracotta colored tiles a few moments later, that delicious scent of Christmas dinner overwhelming their senses. Lindsay was surprised to see just how much food had already been prepared. There were several pots of pasta laid out with a variety of sauces to top them and more loaves of bread than a bakery, not to mention all the holiday staples, such as green bean casserole, masked potatoes, and salads of every kind from leafy greens to assortments of pickled veggies. In the oven were a roast turkey and a large glazed ham, both appearing to be almost done, along with several types of fish. All that food was making Lindsay salivate and her stomach growl. She didn't realize just how hungry she was until now. Having eaten a very light dinner consisting of a slice of stale cheese pizza and a diet soda the day before and nothing as of right now, she was famished.

"She's awake!" Mrs. Messer cried when she saw Lindsay enter the kitchen behind Danny. She was a short woman with silver hair and deep blue eyes. The resemblance to her son was uncanny, and Lindsay couldn't help but smile as the woman smiled at her with that same toothy grin Danny always gave her. She rushed over and gave the young woman a hug as if she was part of the family. "How are you, dear? Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?" Mrs. Messer asked, guiding Lindsay over to the breakfast bar where Izzy and Matt were already sitting and talking. She took the chair at the far end, leaving the one between her and Izzy open. There was an assortment of olives, cheeses, and sliced bread set on small plates in front of them.

Lindsay didn't have to say a word. Danny's mother was already setting a small plate in front of her so she could try whatever she liked. He sat down in the empty seat beside her and was also handed a plate. They glanced at each other sideways with an awkward silence passing between them before Lindsay said, "Thank you, Mrs. Messer."

"Please, call me Mama. Mrs. Messer is too formal," the old woman replied, returning to her place in front of the stove as she stirred a pan full of sautéed shrimp.

Danny and Lindsay glanced at each other again, a second awkward silence passing between them before Lindsay turned and grabbed a slice of ciabatta covered in extra virgin olive oil. She sprinkled it with a little parmesan and took a bite. "You like?" Danny asked. "My mama is the best baker in all of Staten Island. She makes all her breads from scratch."

Nodding her head, Lindsay took another bite. "It's good; real good. My compliments to the chef," she replied after having finished chewing. Danny smiled as Lindsay grabbed a handful of black olives and a piece of mozzarella cheese, placing them in her plate along with a few more slices of bread and a spoon full of diced tomatoes. An easy silence finally settled between them as they sat there picking through their light snacks and listening to the conversations going on around them.

Izzy had wrapped herself around Matt, her hand gently caressing his back as he gazed lovingly down at her with sparkling amber eyes. They spoke in hushed tones about where she'd be taking him the following day since he'd never been to New York before. Every so often, he'd lean in and softly kiss her forehead and she'd blush slightly, returning the affection with a kiss on the lips.

Watching the couple was slowly making Danny nauseous and he longed to find a reason to get the hell out of the kitchen so he wouldn't have to see a guy he didn't know grope his little cousin. In his mind, Izzy was still the bumbling fifteen year old he remembered from way back, always needing his protection from the bullies at school that teased her about her weight and her glasses. Being the youngest and only girl in that generation of Messers and growing up without a mother, Danny took it upon himself to be her guardian. Whenever she needed him, he'd be there. All through her high school years, he'd threatened scores of people for her because he hated when she came home crying for various reasons. It put a smile on his face, going back to that simpler time.

"What are you grinning about?" Izzy noticed he'd gone off into his own little world and decided to burst his bubble.

"You in high school," Danny simply answered, that cocky grin present on his face.

Izzy rolled her eyes and groaned, "Oh, God! Don't bring up high school! You know how much I hated it! I'm still haunted by the memories. All those awful people… How many of them did you almost beat up?"

"I lost count," he chuckled. "At least by the time senior year rolled around, they stopped bothering you."

"Yeah, thanks to you making an example out of Vinny Carlucci," Izzy said before taking a sip from her water glass. "You are so lucky Louie was there to stop you before you killed the guy."

Danny's expression darkened at the mention of his brother's name. He thought he'd be able to handle hearing it spoken around him, but for some reason, it still brought about an uneasy tension that clouded his mind and made him wonder what might have been if Sonny Sassone hadn't beaten Louie to within an inch of his life.

Izzy was the first to notice and quickly shut her mouth. She immediately wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him in for a tight hug. By now, the whole family knew what had happened to Louie; how he'd saved Danny's life by nearly taking his own in what would only be described as the craziest thing a person could do for their family.

Izzy had been in the middle of class when her phone began to ring the night it happened. Seeing it was her cousin, she quickly rushed out into the hall to answer. At that point in time, the two hadn't had a real conversation in nearly a year, both having demanding schedules that kept them from talking to each other for more than a few minutes at a time. Everything that transpired over the phone that night remained fresh in Izzy's mind.

_"Danny!" she'd happily answered that night, expecting this to be one of their many "just popping in to say hello" calls. _

_"Isobel?" Danny rarely, if ever, called her Isobel anymore unless he had something important to tell her. _

_"Danny, what's going on?" her tone immediately changed from cheerful to worried. She sensed the pain and fear in his voice from the moment he'd spoken her name and now she was becoming worried. Izzy's mood quickly switched from happy to apprehensive. She was afraid of what he was about to tell her. _

_"It's, um… It's Louie," his voice cracked with the mention of his brother's name. Izzy could hear Danny sniffle over the phone and her heart immediately began to race. He took a deep, shaky breath, making her all the more scared of what he was about to say. "He's in the hospital. Someone… someone beat him up real bad." _

_"Is he alright?" Izzy's gut response told her to ask. Suddenly, Danny just lost it. Hearing his sobs, a terrible dread washed over her as she listened to him break down over the phone a thousand miles away. Izzy leaned against the wall, her mind unable to process everything all at once. Her heart quickly sank into her shoes as her eyes welled with tears. "Oh, God, Danny, please tell me he's okay," she begged, not wanting to be told her cousin was dead. _

_"They… they don't think…" Danny couldn't finish his sentence as another bout of tears overtook him. Izzy slid down the wall until she was sitting on the hallway's gray carpet. The tears were streaming down her cheeks as she tried to hold in her sobs when she realized what Danny had been attempting to tell her. _

_"Oh, God," Izzy whispered, her head falling against her hand. "Danny, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Danny. I'm sorry," she said over and over again, unable to control her tears any longer. Her heart went out to both her cousins. Izzy wanted nothing more than to be in New York right now so she could give Danny a hug and tell him everything would be okay, but she was stuck in _ _Chicago__ getting ready for finals week that following Monday. "I'm coming home tomorrow," Izzy finally made her decision. She could take her finals later if need be. It was a family emergency, her teachers would understand. There was no way she'd stay, especially with Louie so close to death. _

_"No!" Danny practically yelled at her. "You've got finals next week, then you graduate. I'm not letting you come home until I know there's gonna be a degree in your hand." _

_"What?" Izzy was fuming. She was amazed by how quickly her mood could change when she didn't get what she wanted. _

_"Don't argue with me, Isobel. Worry about school right now, and I'll worry about Louie," Danny had somehow managed to regain his composure to the point where his voice came out strong and determined as he spoke to his little cousin. "I'll keep you updated on what's going on when I find out, alright. Just do me a favor and graduate. That's all I ask, then you can come home and do whatever you want, just get that degree you've worked so hard for." _

_"Fine," Izzy pouted as she pushed herself off the floor and stood up. "I'd better hear from you soon, because you know how much I worry about the family." _

_"You will, don't worry," Danny reassured her. "I should let you go now. You've got class, right?" _

_"Right," she replied. "I guess I'll talk to you later, then." _

_"Yeah," he said. "Bye Izzy." _

_"Bye Danny." And with that, they hung up. _

Izzy got a few phone calls from Danny later that week about Louie's condition; he'd stabilized but was still unresponsive and he was being moved to a full time care facility. Although it eased her mind somewhat, she still worried about him. But it was Danny that her heart went out to. She knew that he and Louie had been drifting apart for the longest time, and for something like this to happen… Izzy didn't know how Danny managed to rise above it, because if it was her, she'd probably be in bed right now, crying and eating a box of chocolates.

Just as she'd promised, Izzy had taken her very last finals and finished college at the top of her class, earning a Bachelors of Art in Graphic Design. Her father had flown in for graduation day, but Danny hadn't giving her the reason that some big important case had come up and that he couldn't take off because Mac would have his head. Although Izzy had been disappointed, she couldn't hold it against him. Danny had a demanding job, and it's not like he could take off whenever he liked. Besides, her father would videotape it for everyone to see, just as the rest of the Messer clan had with all their kids.

After a few weeks, the phone calls stopped coming. Izzy tried to get a hold of her cousin several times, but his phone was either turned off or she'd get his voicemail. He never returned her messages either. She figured that it was something he needed to deal with and gave him his space.

"I'm sorry," Izzy whispered as she held Danny close and softly kissed his cheek. "I didn't mean to."

"It's alright. I'm fine," he answered, pulling away and giving her a sad smile. She gently patted his back, her gaze still fixed on his. "I'll be fine," Danny reassured her. This time he gave Izzy a genuine smile and she smiled back, withdrawing her hand and putting it in her lap.

"Just making sure," she replied, leaning into Matt as he wrapped a protective arm around her. "You know how much I worry about you."

"I know," Danny said as he stood up and started to walk out of the kitchen. "I need to get some air. I'll be back."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A little insight into Izzy's life and her relationship with Danny. Hope you enjoyed that and save a few of those points for future reference. ;) Hope everyone had a very Happy New Year. I know I did! Hehe. We won't get into that, tho. :D Onto the review responses (which I gotta do in this chapter because for some reason this site isn't sending out alerts at the moment):

prplerayne: Waffels with heavy whipped cream. That's enough to kickstart your imagination, hehe. Yep, Izzy is just like him, only worse. Wait till you meet her dad! Now that'll be fun! Thanks for the review! You know I luv ya, cuz you give me great ideas when I'm stuck in my stories, like last night. Thanks again for all your help. TTYL!

jasmine135246: Next chapter, hopefully, if the review alerts start working again. This chapter, couldn't be helped. Thanks for the suggestion, tho. :) I really do appreciate when people tell me this kinda stuff. I like to improve wherever I can, even if it's not story related. And I'm glad you're enjoying the story too! Thanks for the review!

LittleItaly565: Aww! I'm glad I made you smile on a bad day! I know how difficult that can be, and it definitely helps when you find something that makes you happy even for the shortest amount of time. :) Hope this chapter brought a smile to your face as well. And I tried to email you about that story idea, but this damn site has the review alrets down, so you probably haven't gotten my message yet! Anyway, feel free to email me. You should be able to find my addy on my profile page. Thanks for the review! I hope everything's looking up for you and I can't wait to hear about your idea! Have a great day and I can't wait to hear from you again!

I Can Hear the Sea: Hehehe, Danny scaring the crap out of Izzy's boyfriend was a MUST! Especially since it's gonna come back to bite him in the ass... Hehe. Just a little spoiler for ya! Thanks for another wonderful review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! Can't wait to hear from you again!

Shelbers: Ah, okay, now I see. Hockey, great sport! I'm a Chicago Wolves fan myself and I definitely love going to a game whenever I get tickets. :) The fights are definitely fun to watch, LOL! Anyway, glad you enjoyed Danny's razzing of Izzy's boyfriend. Wait till you see how it comes back to bite him in the ass! Hehehehe. Spoiler! I hope there was just enough sugar in this chapter to make those cavaties grow, lol! Thanks for another awesome review! I really do appreciate it! Hope you had a great New Year! Talk to you soon!

fatkat: Thanks!! And don't worry, review whenever you get the chance. I don't expect them, I appreciate them when they come! Glad you're enjoying the story so far, especially the family interaction. Hopefully this chapter gave you a little more insight into it. :) Thanks again for the review! Talk to you soon!

Something Freakey: Grand, wow! That's amazing! I'm glad its so grand! Thank you! I appreciate you telling me that! Glad you like the story so much! Can't wait to talk to you again!

messermonroe: Yep! Interrogation coming soon! Along with a big bite in the ass for Danny! Hehehe. Glad you're enjoying the story. That last chapter was definitely fun to write! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one! Thanks for the review!!

Riva: Hopefully that site helped. If it didn't I can send you some other stuff. Anyway, glad you like Izzy! She's definitely Danny's equal, hehe, and one of the best characters I've written so far. Danny's dad is gonna show up later on in the story, so don't worry about that. And I'm sooo glad you're enjoying the wallpapers! I made those for everyone to use. :) You get a double thank you for the reveiw and the wallpapers! You are totally awesome, chica! Thanks so much! Can't wait for your next review!

chili-peppers: Well, here's your wish! LOL! More about Izzy and Danny's mom:D That little speech of his with Izzy's boyfriend is definitely gonna come in handy later on, when it comes to bite him in the ass! HAHA! I've got some plans for him! (evil laughter!) MUHAHAHA! Hehehe. Okay, shutting up now. Thanks for the review!! Can't wait to hear your thoughts about this chatper. Talk to ya soon!

PhyscoBlonde4eva: I saw all caps and got frightened, then I realized you really liked the story, so I stopped freaking out, LOL! Sorry it took so long to update! The holidays... Need I say more? I was mostly drunk and happy. Not like I could form a coherent thought for a few days. But here it is! Just in time for the new year! Thank you so much for your review! I really appreciate it!

Mandy1987: Glad you like Izzy! She's gonna have a bigger role later on in the story, and trust me, NOBODY'S safe from her wrath! LOL! Not even Lindsay. BTW, that second comment about Lindsay's dejected look really propelled me to delve into her feelings for Danny later on in the story, and trust me, you'll see what I mean, especially since it's during the BEST scene. :) Double thank you for the idea and the review! VERY MUCH APPRECIATED! Can't wait to hear from you again!

truebluepatfan12: Hi! Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the story! And that you like Izzy so much! The female version of Danny, lol! She's definitely got a big part to play, and you'll see that later on in the story. Thanks for the review! Much appreciated!

dddynamite: Aww! Thank you!! I love it when people tell me I write well. It boosts my confidence! Glad you're enjoying the story! Can't wait to hear from you again! Thanks for the review!

The Little Corinthian: You must be psychic! Too bad I can't tell you how right you are. Hehehe! Although that should be pretty clear now. LOL! Izzy is basically the female version of Danny, only she's just a tad bit worse than he is when it comes to a few things, which I'll reveal later on in the story. I loved your closet comment! HAHA! It made me laugh until I almost fell off my chair! Great suggestion! I'll have to save that for another story, tho. Hehe. The end is already set in stone for this one. And as for myself, I'm doing alright. The pain is slowly subsiding even tho there are times where I just wanna curl up and die because I hurt so much. Pain killers aren't working so well, but if the weather keeps up and stays warm, I should be fine by next week. Thanks again for caring! And double thanks for the review! I really do appreciate it! Can't wait to hear your thoughts about this chapter!

onesmartgoalie: Hi! Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I really appreciate the review! Can't wait to hear from you again!

NCIS: OMG! You changed your name! LoL! Very nice! Glad you liked the last chapter. Hope this one was good too! Thanks again for the review! Talk to you soon!

The Lurkers: You guys are totally awesome too!! Thank you for reading!! I really REALLY appreciate it! It's nice to see you guys also come out of hiding, so for those of you who have, THANK YOU! For those of you who haven't, no pressure whatsoever! Just the fact that you're reading is enough! So thank you for that!! You all ROCK!!

More story coming soon... If I don't get too sidetracked by back pain.

-DK


	5. Chapter 5

Having watched the heartwarming moment unfold, Lindsay was quick to hop off her chair and follow him. She'd never seen Danny so shaken up before. She'd heard a few things from Mac about how he'd broken down at the hospital, but had yet to see anything that gave her the impression he could show so much emotion.

"You want some company?" Lindsay asked when she caught up with him.

Danny glanced in her direction for a second before grabbing his coat and throwing it over his shoulders. "Nah, I just need a little time alone," he answered as he opened the front door.

"You look like you could use a friend right now. I just wanna return the favor for what you did for me this morning," Lindsay replied, following him out the door and onto the old rickety wooden porch. Danny remained silent as he walked out into the cold. When he heard the door close behind him, he glanced back to make sure she hadn't followed, but there she was, standing behind him, her big, chocolaty doe eyes staring back at him with an intensity he hadn't seen before.

"What the hell are you doing, Montana?" Danny asked, masking the feelings and emotions that had begun to bubble up on the inside from that look in her eyes. Her gaze was unnerving. It made him feel as if he had no control of the situation, which was why he added, "You're gonna catch a cold out here without a jacket."

"Please, this is warm. Have you ever been to Montana around Christmas time? It's below zero," she retorted, wrapping her arms around herself as she stood beside him looking out at the rest of the snow covered street. For once she was glad that she'd worn a thick burgundy sweater with a t-shirt layered beneath it. Although she made it seem like the weather in New York wasn't so bad, it was still pretty cold outside.

Lindsay could see that Danny had become slightly defensive and edgy, but chalked it up to the conversation he'd just had with Izzy. "This is definitely a change for me. I'm so used to seeing snow covered wheat fields rather than snow covered suburban homes," she added, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Wheat fields," Danny smirked, finally feeling a little more at ease.

"Shut up," Lindsay shot back with narrowed eyes. "Can you go five minutes without making some smart ass comment about me?"

"I can try," he replied. "But I make no guarantees, Montana."

"Will you _please_ stop calling me that?" Lindsay made sure to emphasize the "please," seeing that all her other attempts at getting Danny to stop teasing her had yet to work. "It's childish and proves to me that you'll never quit the comments." Lindsay wrapped her arms a little tighter around herself when she felt a chilly wind whip in from the west.

Noticing her shiver, Danny took off his jacket and threw it over her shoulders. She glanced up at him sideways as she held the coat tightly around her body and conceded, "Alright, maybe you do have your good moments."

"Have my good moments?" Danny half mocked. "Of course I have my good moments! I spared you from Izzy's wrath. What more could you ask for?"

"Izzy's wrath?" Lindsay questioned, narrowing her eyes at him again, this time in deep thought. "You mean to tell me what she said was true?"

Danny gave her an uneasy laugh before answering, "No, not at all. She just gets these crazy ideas in her head about me and thinks that every girl that I'm with is my girlfriend. Don't listen to her. She's a basket case."

"You've got all the right answers, don't you, Messer?" Lindsay replied, feeling that his explanation of the day's events was a little too justified. Her intuition told her that he was trying to cover up his true intentions and that he did like her no matter how many times he made an argument for the contrary. Lindsay tried to shake the strange emotions coming over her, staring out at the falling snow to see if it would take her mind off them. Now she was the one beginning to feel uncomfortable. To cover it up, she quickly started a new conversation. "So, Izzy…"

"What about her?" Danny retorted, not really wanting to delve into whatever train of though Lindsay was about to present him with.

"She reminds me of you," she replied, glancing up at him with those chocolaty doe eyes and a smile on her face.

Danny couldn't help but chuckle, "No wonder, I practically raised her." There was now a smile gracing his face as well. That was definitely one topic he didn't mind talking about. He loved to tell stories about Izzy and how they grew up together.

Lindsay gave him a slightly confused look. "You raised her?" Intriguing…

Danny took her hand and led her to the bench at the far end of the porch. "Your fingers are really cold," he mumbled as they sat down and quickly wrapped his hands around hers.

He didn't think much of it at the time, but Lindsay found herself reveling in his soft touch. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind and added, "What do you mean, you raised her?"

Taking a deep breath, Danny answered, "Yeah, you see, her mom died when she was two; car accident. My uncle couldn't take care of her because he was always working. All my other relatives were busy with their own lives, so that left me and my mom, who was the only stay at home mom in our family. With Izzy being the only girl born in my generation, she definitely found a mother with my mom, but Mom was always busy in those days, cooking, cleaning, running errands, so that left me babysitting her when I came home from school. I was only nine, what did I know about kids aside from being one? It wasn't easy, that's for sure, but we managed somehow, and she latched onto me like I was her brother, and ever since then, I've pretty much been her everything."

Lindsay smiled as she replied, "Yeah, I could see that she cares a lot about you just by the way she hugged you when we were in the kitchen. It's… sweet." A blush started to come over her skin when she realized just how stupid she probably sounded right now, but at least it got Danny to smile a little wider. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Please, continue."

"It's alright," he said, still gently holding her hands in his. It was then that Danny realized he hadn't let go ever since they sat down. He quickly pulled away, fearing he'd somehow invaded her privacy or something by holding her for so long, but the look on Lindsay's face when he released her now warm fingers almost made him think twice. She seemed unhappy… no, devastated, that he'd let go. As a way to block the image out of his mind, he started talking about Izzy again, hoping it would go away. "Yeah, anyway, as you pretty much found out earlier, I've been Izzy's protector ever since she was a little girl. My mom overfed her, which was probably why she got a little chubby and ended up being teased at school. The first time she came home crying, I was fourteen and she was seven. She told me that one of the 'popular' girls had started to call her Lard Butt, and now the rest of her class was calling her that."

"Oh, God… Poor Izzy… I remember those days. I used to get teased for having buck teeth," Lindsay admitted, yet again interrupting Danny in the middle of his story.

"You had buck teeth?" he asked, now intrigued by her past. Danny watched as she turned a bright shade of red before smiling with a toothy grin. "No way… I don't believe it. You've got perfect teeth."

"They're called braces, Danny," she smartly answered, getting over her initial shock that she'd even mentioned it. "Millions of kids have worn them before me, and millions will after."

"You really are a smart ass, you know that, Montana?" he kidded, his smile giving away his demeanor.

"Get back to the story already," Lindsay playfully ordered as she crossed her arms over her chest and waiting for him to finish telling her about Izzy's past. The girl was definitely a character, and understanding where it came from would be nice.

"Alright! Where was I? Oh, Lard Butt… Right, so the next day, I ended up taking her to school and she pointed out exactly who had done this to her. So I gave her a little advice: find her flaws and call her out on them. You know what Izzy started calling her?" Danny paused, waiting for her response.

"What?" Lindsay asked, as predicted.

"Pinocchio," he answered. Both Danny and Lindsay started to laugh.

"Pinocchio?" she had to make sure she was hearing him right.

"The girl had one hell of a big nose!" Danny replied in his defense. "From that point on, they stopped teasing Izzy about her weight. That was until she started high school. And that's why the Vinny Carlucci incident was so important. The bastard was a jock, kept calling her Fat Ass when she passed him in the halls. He even hit her with spitballs during class. She tried to find something to tease him about, but it always backfired, and she'd get hell for it. Finally, I got fed up with him being a jackass and decided I'd rough him up a little bit. Yeah, that didn't go as planned…"

He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. Lindsay could tell it was something he didn't like to go into detail about, considering his brother was involved, but Danny glanced over at her, his eyes downcast and hazy. "Izzy knew what I was gonna do when I showed up one day after school with a two by four and asked where I could find Vinny. She tried to stop me, but my mind was already made up. While I looked for him, she went to find Louie. By the time he got there, I had already beaten the sorry little bastard to a pulp. I was about to deliver the final blow when I felt someone grab my arm and pull me back. When I saw it was Louie, I didn't know what to think. I mean, here was the guy who'd called me a disgrace in front of all his friends for trying to stop someone from being beaten to death, yet he was trying to stop me from killing someone. I didn't know what to think, so I froze and just stared at him until we heard sirens. Louie told me to get the hell out of there, that he'd take care of this. I grabbed Izzy's hand and we ran. I was so scared. I'd never done such a horrible thing in my life, and when we got home, I couldn't stop crying because I felt so bad for what I'd done. Izzy, bless her heart, she did everything she could to try and make me feel better, but I knew this wouldn't go away. It's stayed with me for the last six years. I've tried to make it go away. I apologized to the kid several times, but that doesn't make the images stop replaying in my mind whenever someone brings it up."

Lindsay saw the pain in his eyes and gently reached over and placed her hand over his shoulder. Danny glanced over at her, his eyes soft with tears threatening to spill at any moment. Steeling himself quickly after realizing that she'd noticed, he cleared his throat and added, "At least he, and pretty much everyone else, stopped bothering Izzy after that."

"That's good," Lindsay replied, giving him an encouraging smile as she let her hand drop back into her lap. "So, how did she end up in Chicago?" she decided to change the subject.

Danny was smiling again, glad that he no longer had to focus on the darker memories of his past, although this one wasn't the rosiest of them either. "You see, Izzy is one hell of an artist," he said. "She's got the kind of talent that rivals anyone over at Disney. Where she got it from, I don't know, but I do remember she had a penchant for drawing all over the apartment walls when she was little. I got in so much trouble every time someone discovered something new. My uncle finally got fed up and decided to cover the walls in newsprint. I still have every single drawing she ever did on those sheets of paper. The evolution from simple kid drawings into real works of art is incredible. I think I was the only person in the entire family who ever believed in her, so I kept pushing her to do better and better. By the time she finished high school, she'd been accepted to several art schools like the New York Academy of Art and the Art Institute of New York City, which I was rooting for because she'd still be in town. But Izzy had big dreams. She was also accepted into some of the more prestigious art schools, like the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Columbia College Chicago, and the San Francisco Art Institute.

"When she told me she decided to go to Columbia, I was devastated. I thought she was deserting me, ya know? All those years, I was her rock, and all of a sudden, I'm not in her life anymore, and she's not in mine. She hurt me, and I couldn't deal with it. I think that's one of the main reasons we lost touch while she was out there, why I didn't go visit, why most of our phone conversations were no longer than a minute unless something really bad had happened. That's probably why she neglected to tell me about her boyfriend."

"Think about it this way, Danny. Maybe it was time for you to let her go and discover her purpose in life. Maybe she needed some time alone to sort things out. You did say you were constantly in her life. Maybe she just needed some time away from you, or even the whole family," Lindsay tried to be as comforting as she could considering what she'd just told him, but she refused to let Danny interrupt her, adding, "I know what you're gonna say. I'm wrong. I don't know what I'm talking about. Well, I do, because I was in her position once. And that's how I ended up here."

"What made you leave Montana?" Danny asked the obvious question, although he always wondered why she had come to New York.

"I have my reasons," Lindsay softly replied, her gaze falling to the snow covered front yard.

Danny waited for a moment, hoping she'd elaborate, but when her eyes went blank, he said, "And those reasons are…?" There was no way he was letting her out of this considering all that he'd just told her about his past.

"I'd rather not get into that right now," she answered before standing up and trying to head back into the house, but Danny stood up with her, his body blocking her only exit as he grabbed her by the arms to keep her from bolting. "Come on, Danny. They're really stupid. I don't wanna get into them."

"Hey, I told you some stuff. It's only fair," he argued.

Lindsay crossed her arms over her chest and pouted, but she stayed put and replied, "Fine." The grin on Danny's face was enough to make this worthwhile. She just shook her head at him and started, "I was an only child, so from the start, my parents were always very protective of me. I wasn't allowed to go to a friend's house past seven. I wasn't allowed to go to sleepovers. Hell, I wasn't even allowed to date until I turned 18! They kept me on a pretty tight leash. And it SUCKED!"

Danny chuckled at her enunciation of the word "sucked." "Good thing you didn't grow up in my family. They were the exact opposite. Once you turned 15, you were expected to have a job, have a girlfriend, be the best athlete on the team, and have the highest GPA," he said.

"I had to beg to go to the mall when I was 15," Lindsay grumbled. "My mom… totally psycho! She had to make sure she knew where I was, who I was with, what I was doing, and when I'd be back, AT ALL TIMES! Even at school! She'd want to know what classes I was taking, who my teachers were, who all my classmates were, every assignment I had to do… The list goes on! I once made the mistake of rebelling against her rules. I was grounded for two months. No TV for two whole MONTHS!"

"What'd you do?" Danny asked out of curiosity.

"I told my mom I was going to a study group when instead I went to a…" Lindsay paused for a moment, wondering if she should tell him exactly where she'd gone, but quickly decided against it, fearing he'd only laugh at her, "concert."

"You paused!" he quickly called her out on it. Danny knew it had to be embarrassing if she didn't mention the name of the band; probably the Backstreet Boys or N'Sync… whatever the girls liked back then. "What concert did you go to?" Lindsay mumbled something and Danny quickly asked, "Wait, could you repeat that? I didn't hear it." Again, she mumbled the name of the band, but he still couldn't hear her. "One more time. I'm a little hard of hearing when it comes to soft voices."

"SPICE GIRLS, alright?!" Lindsay practically shouted in his face. It was her most embarrassing secret now exposed to the one person who could easily use it against her as blackmail. This whole day was just turning into one little disaster after another.

Danny struggled to stifle the laughter waiting to erupt; putting his hand over his mouth, averting his gaze, even thinking about baseball. But nothing worked. One glance at Lindsay's flushed face and he burst. He got a good whack in the shoulder for it, yet that still didn't stop him. "Wow," Danny said when he finally calmed down. "Was it worth it?"

"What?!" he'd caught Lindsay off guard.

"Was the punishment worth it?"

Lindsay thought for a moment. She began to wonder if he was prodding because he really wanted to know or if he was just fishing for more blackmail. Narrowing her eyes, she finally replied, "Does it really matter?"

"Well, you did lose TV privileges for two months, so I'd hope it was wroth it," Danny answered.

"It was," Lindsay thoughtfully responded.

"Alright, so I get the whole part about your parents being overprotective, but you never answered my question," he said. "Why did you leave Montana?'

Lindsay stood in a thoughtful silence. Danny saw the wheels in her mind turning through those chocolate colored eyes and realized that he'd just hit a nerve with her. There was something in her past she was having trouble letting go of. "For the same reason I became a CSI," she finally answered. Gazing up at him, their eyes locked, and he realized there was a lot more to this story than he previously thought. His brows furrowed, and just before he could ask her what, she was already speaking. "My best friend was murdered by her boyfriend and he got off on a technicality. She was only seventeen."

Danny stood there, stunned and speechless. He really didn't know how to respond to such a statement. "I'm… sorry," was all he could muster before she interrupted.

"I was just so angry at the justice system. Then I found out that the prosecution missed a key piece of evidence at the crime scene, which the judge wouldn't allow because it was collected after the fact. From that moment on, I really wanted to get into crime scene investigation so I could prevent this from happening to others," Lindsay said. "But, of course, there's more. Nothing can ever be that simple in my life…"

"Wait… What?" Danny couldn't believe there was more to this story. "More?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "I made one major screw up while I was in Bozeman. It was the first case I ever worked alone: a murder at the local convenience store. The clerk was found dead after an apparent robbery. It was supposed to be quick and simple: collect the evidence and get out of there. The cop that was assigned to sit and wait for me got pissy because he wanted to leave and get to his football practice that afternoon. So I rushed it… And it came back to bite me in the ass…" Lindsay looked down, no longer able to keep eye contact with him. Danny gently placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face only to find the tears in her eyes. "I screwed up!" she cried. "I made a promise to myself to be thorough and catch everything I could find at a crime scene, but I didn't! I missed the bullet in the wall behind the cash register! It was the through and through that killed him, and I missed it! I tried telling myself that the prosecution would win this case because we had a witness, but she turned out to be a bust. Come trial day, she couldn't remember a thing! And there I was, stuck feeling like a complete and total idiot because the only piece of evidence we could match to the suspect was thrown out of court after the clean-up crew found it and discarded it in the trash. I broke my own promise!"

"Lindsay…" Danny sighed as he gently pulled her in for a warm hug. When he pulled away, his hands resting on her shoulders, he added, "You're not a complete and total idiot, I can tell you that for sure. Just because you screwed up once doesn't mean you should keep beating yourself up over it. I've done my fair share of stupid things that coulda gotten me fired or even landed me in jail, but I never let them get to me. Keep your chin up. Don't keep dwelling in the past. It just makes you feel like crap. You're smart, you're very thorough, and you're an amazing person. Don't sell yourself short."

The smile slowly creeping onto Lindsay's face turned into a full blown grin with his last statement. These moments they shared were few and far between. "There's that beautiful smile," Danny said as he gently wiped the tears off her face with his fingers.

Lindsay quickly started to turn bright red when he called her beautiful. It was the first time he'd ever done that, and it made her feel just a little strange. They were coworkers, nothing more. She wasn't supposed to feel this way about someone she worked with. Lindsay started to feel that uncomfortable feeling that had come over her when they first stepped outside and quickly decided she needed to change the direction of this conversation before things got too weird.

"If you ever mention the Spice Girls, thing, I swear, I will kill you," Lindsay warned.

"Hey, no problem. It's just our little secret, Montana," Danny shot back, realizing that somehow he'd just crossed the unspoken line between them, making Lindsay revert back to her normal self again.

"And stop calling me Montana!" Her tone was more playful than angry. "It's so childish!"

"Whatever… Montana," Danny mumbled with that half grin she loved to hate.

"Stop it, Santa," Lindsay barked, using the nickname she'd given him earlier.

"Make me!" he childishly shot back, just to get a rise out of her and see what she'd do next.

They both tried to glare at each other but ended up laughing instead. It felt good to laugh, especially after the things they'd both gone through that day: Lindsay with her inability to let go of the past and Danny with his inability to get over what happened to his brother. The brief respite gave them a moment to just sit back and relax, forget the past, and look towards a somewhat better future.

"Thanks," Danny said as he turned to his companion, the smile shining bright on his face.

"For what?" Lindsay asked, slightly confused by what he was referring to. She'd just called him Santa again, why was he thanking her?

"For being my friend," he answered, his gaze now on a snow covered 1974 Concord Ambassador with its factory wood grain paint job slowly making its way along the ice slicked street.

Lindsay smiled. She was just beginning to realize how deep their friendship really went now that they were alone and struggling to get over their own hurdles in life. "You're welcome," she replied, wrapping an arm around his waist and pulling him in for another hug.

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Well, now that the review alert problem has finally been fixed, I can make a few changes to this part. I've decided to send review replies instead of compile them all at the end, except for those of you that don't/can't sign in. You'll be thanked here. :) These upcoming chapters are long enough on their own. Don't wanna make then seem any longer than they really are!

Anyway, now that I've said that... I'm so glad you guys are really enjoying this story! This current chapter took me FOREVER to finish. I think I went through three revisions before I finally got to this point. Talk about a headache! Oh, well, at least it'll make more sense in the long run. :) Anyway, onto the review replies:

Riva: I'm so glad you're enjoying this story! And I'm so glad you were able to check out that ep on the CBS website. Now you know what's going on! Hehe. Izzy and Danny's relationship is definitely special even tho they have their tough times, as you can see in this chapter. There's definitely a lot more to come, so I can't wait to see what you think of this last addition! And you are awesome. Don't think otherwise:) Talk to you soon!

The Lurkers: You guys are awesome too!! I love to see the hit counter go up because it makes me feel like I'm doing a good job. Thanks for the boost and all the positive energy!! You guys are rock stars!!

Alright, one last thing. Updated my profile again, this time with my Carmine calendar, hehe. Check it out. If you want one, email me! My addy is on my page. Also, there are 13 new wallpapers, all based on the calendar. The links are included with the calendar preview, so check them out too! Enjoy!

Stay tuned, more story coming soon!

-DK


	6. Chapter 6

Danny and Lindsay stood side by side for a little while, her arm resting around his waist, his arm over her shoulders, watching the old station wagon slowly make its way along the icy street and stop in front of the house. Danny's smile grew a little wider as a man in his early sixties slowly got out and hobbled towards the back to retrieve several large bags of what he could only guess were either presents or groceries, more than likely the latter.

"Danny, get off your ass and come help me with these bags. I'm not getting any younger," he shouted in his thick Staten Island accent.

"Am I wearing a friggin' Trader Joe's bag boy uniform, Dad?" Danny snapped back, the smile still present on his face as he walked off the porch towards the old man. He hadn't seen his father all day, and even if he had been home, Danny wouldn't have known considering he'd passed out on the living room couch soon after settling Lindsay into his bed. He'd been exhausted after a long night in the lab and an even longer drive to the house. The four hour nap he'd taken was just enough to recharge his batteries, allowing him to get on with the rest of the day just like any other day.

"Don't get smart with me, Daniel," his father replied, also smiling. He pulled him in for a hug and added, "It's good to see you, Son."

Danny wrapped his arms around the old man and said, "It's good to see you too, Dad." He grabbed a few grocery bags from the back of the station wagon and made his way down the snow covered walkway to the porch, handing off a couple to Lindsay. She took them without protest and opened the door, shrugging his coat off into the closet once they were inside.

"Daniel! Be polite! Take back those grocery bags and bring them to your mother! They're too heavy for her!" his father scolded when he walked in behind them. "I thought I taught you better than that! Always be considerate of women."

Danny's face blushed red as Lindsay tried to reply, "No, that's alright. I've got it," but he quickly took the bags out of her hands and headed into the kitchen to give them to his mother as his father followed him.

"You must be Lindsay. I'm George, Danny's father. He talks a lot about you. It's nice to finally put a face to a name, and what a beautiful face it is," the older man introduced himself. He looked much like Danny, having the same sapphire colored eyes and facial structure, only his was slightly more rounded from age and maybe a few inches shorter than his son. But that didn't make him any less of a formidable man. Just like Danny, he stood tall and proud. "If I didn't have to bring these bags to my wife, I'd shake your hand," he added with a half smile just like the ones Danny gave her. She returned a wayward smile but before she knew it, he was already out of sight.

Lindsay was left wondering what the hell had just happened, but quickly forgot the whole event when several children ran past her. From that moment on, everything seemed to happen at light speed. Startled, Lindsay stepped back so she was flush against the wall as several more children ran into the house towards the kitchen yelling, "Grandma!"

"Merry Christmas!" someone yelled from the front door. Glancing in that general direction, Lindsay could see three couples step into the house, bags full of wrapped gifts almost overflowing their arms. Suddenly, Danny came bounding down the hall and rushed past her to greet them.

"Oh, my God, if it isn't the rest of the Messer clan!" he exclaimed, helping the women by grabbing as many things as he could from them and taking the stuff into the living room to the left. When Danny returned and quickly glanced at all the newcomers, he realized someone was missing. "Hey, wait a minute, where's Uncle Carl?"

"Stuck somewhere between here and Brooklyn," one of the guys answered as he emerged from the crowd and helped Danny carry the rest of the gifts into the living room.

"Really, Tony; are you psychic now?" Danny sarcastically replied, turning to the tall, dark haired, blue eyed man that Lindsay could only assume was Tony.

"I just talked to him on the phone a minute ago and that's what he told me. Quit being such a smart ass! You, Uncle Carl and Izzy have spent way too much time together!" Tony said, pulling Danny in for a hug. "Good to see you, Cuz. It's been a while. We've missed you, especially Jake and Michael."

"Yeah, I can tell. They practically ran me over in the kitchen," Danny chuckled. He noticed Tony glance down the hall and spot Lindsay, and this time Danny was ready with an answer. He couldn't afford another Izzy incident, especially with this many family members in his presence. Waving Lindsay over, Danny turned to the crowd of people gathered at the door taking off their coats and formally introduced her to the rest of his family. "Guys, I want you to meet a good friend of mine, Lindsay Monroe. She's one of my colleagues from the crime lab and she's spending Christmas with us this year because she couldn't make it home to Montana." Danny took a deep breath before continuing. There were a lot of names on the list he was about to ramble off to her. "Lindsay, these are all my cousins and their wives: Tony and Michelle, Vinny and Andrea, Angelo and Stacy, Giovanni and Cara, Lorenzo and Vanessa, Marco and Karen, and Maurice and Maggie. There's no way I'm even gonna begin with the kids."

"With fourteen total, I don't blame you. She can find out their names later," Tony said. "Please to meet you, Lindsay. Sorry to hear you couldn't make it home this year, but welcome! I hope you have a Merry Christmas."

"Thank you, Tony," Lindsay politely replied as she shook his hand and gave him a bright smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Danny piped up again, finishing the introductions, "And, of course, my aunts and uncles: Uncle Vito and Aunt Gina, Uncle Mario and Aunt Lucia, and Uncle Jim and Aunt Alisa. Uncle Carl's missing, but hopefully he'll be here soon. He's Izzy's dad."

"Oh," she replied. She leaned into him slightly and asked in a soft voice, "Is he anything like his daughter?"

"Worse," Danny bent over and whispered in her ear, a grin plastered on his face. "He makes Izzy look like an angel. But he's still a pretty cool guy; by far my favorite uncle."

'Great,' Lindsay thought, cringing. This was definitely going to be an interesting afternoon. Hopefully all would go well and she and Danny would be spared anymore embarrassment.

The next twenty minutes were spent meeting and greeting the rest of the family until they all headed into the kitchen to round up the children and send them outside to play in the powdery snow, allowing the adults some time to talk and catch up with each other. Lindsay was overwhelmed by all the welcome she had received from the Messer family. After all, she was a total stranger, yet she felt like she belonged there with them. Her Christmas spirit was returning as the feelings of sadness that she couldn't spend this year with her family began to fade away.

Four o'clock lazily rolled in as very good wine was being passed around in the kitchen for the second time. Five empty bottles already sat on the kitchen counter while the sixth was being emptied into Lindsay's glass. It seemed like every time she got down to half, someone would refill it, making it almost impossible to figure out just how much she'd had to drink. At least she was feeling great by this point. The last of her sadness had dissipated when Tony started to crack jokes about everyone and everything, from the snow to politics, making her laugh so hard she nearly fell off the chair she'd been sitting on. Had it not been for Danny standing beside her, Lindsay just might have made the biggest ass out of herself. His arm was securely wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close and never letting go as she continued to fall under the spell of the delicious wine in her glass.

When the doorbell rang, Danny let go, but not before making sure she was able to sit without falling over. Lindsay reassured him she was fine and he went to answer the door. "Uncle Carl!" he exclaimed when he opened it, throwing his arms around the older man for a hug.

"Danny! How are you, my boy? Doin' good?" Uncle Carl replied. He was a lean man in his late fifties with silver hair and piercing ice blue eyes. Under his arm he carried a small blue cooler, which he set down by the door before wiping his feet on the mat and taking off his thick grey wool coat.

"Never been better," Danny said with a genuine smile. They walked down the hall into the kitchen as he proclaimed, "Hey, everybody, Uncle Carl's here!" The attention quickly shifted to the newcomer as everyone made their way towards him and Danny.

Lindsay didn't dare move from her seat. She was well beyond tipsy and afraid that standing might prove to be suicidal to her image. So she stayed put and waited for the rest of the party to come to her. It might have looked slightly conceited, but she could always use the excuse of being shy around new people. Thankfully no one really noticed as Danny and his uncle emerged from the crowd, making their way towards her. "Lindsay, this is my Uncle Carl. Definitely my favorite uncle," Danny introduced.

"Hi, Lindsay Monroe," she managed to say without slurring her words. The man was just as tall as Danny, only he had broader shoulders and a cleanly shaven face.

"Lindsay, eh? Danny's told me a lot about you. Never told me how pretty you were, though," Uncle Carl replied, making her turn even redder than the wine in her glass. He was the second person in Danny's family to point out her beauty. Earlier, it had been his father. What the hell was Danny telling them all? It made Lindsay wonder if she had been the topic of discussion more than once in his family.

Uncle Carl glanced at his nephew and added, "I can't believe you haven't made your move on this one, yet." It was Danny's turn to flush red as his gaze dropped to his feet. There went Lindsay's hope that the rest of the day would go smoothly without added embarrassment. But she had to admit that it was cute watching Danny squirm in the hot seat. It was something she didn't get to see often, but so very much worth it when she did. His face would turn beet red as his gaze would avert to anywhere but eyelevel, usually his feet.

"Uncle Carl, stop!" he practically begged, his eyes remaining on his shoes.

"What, you embarrassed or something?" the older man asked. His attention snapped to Lindsay. "Danny, here, he's a good guy. Give him a chance," he added, giving his nephew a good slap on the shoulder.

Lindsay started to giggled. The wine had finally gone to her head and made her inhibitions fall to the wayside when she answered, "We'll see." Lindsay immediately regretted what had come out of her mouth when she saw Danny's head shoot up and meet her gaze. His eyes were so full of hope that she didn't know how she'd be able to turn him down if he ever asked her out or something along those lines. She made a mental note never to drink wine or any other type of alcohol around a friend's family ever again, especially a male friend. Well, more like just Danny.

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Yay! Update!! I'm gonna keep this short cuz I'm absolutely exhausted and I can't seem to keep my eyes open any longer. First off, I wanna thank ALL of you for being such wonderful people by reading and reviewing my story. It means a lot to me that people are enjoying it so much, and I know I've said that several times already, but I have to keep saying it, because I really do love you guys for being so supportive. THANK YOU SO MUCH! And, now, for the poeple who can't sign in:

PRTFCSI: Hey, it's alright that you haven't been able to review! I understand about school and homework! I've been through it, and now that I'm done with it, I'm just so friggin RELIEVED! But at least you've got something to distract you, huh? That what I always loved about fan fiction, hehe, especially while I was in college. It was a GREAT time killer, LOL! And they'll get together, soon enough, just lemmie finish all the awkward moments. :) Hope this chapter was just as good as the last ones. Thank you so much for the review! Glad you got to it. I appreciate it so much! Thank you again!

Riva: Oh, I'm not done with Izzy yet! There's still a little more I need to reveal about her, but that's coming up in a few chapters. :) Glad you got to see that vid. Interesting, huh? Lots of very good info. And I'm really glad you're enjoying the story so much! I can't thank you enough for reading and reviewing! I really really really appreciate it! And I'm so glad you found the calendar, too, hehe. That was definitely a fun project! Enjoy the wallpapers I made from it!

The Lurkers: YOU GUYS ARE TOTALLY AWESOME!! THANK YOU SOO MUCH!! If I wasn't so damn tired, I'd write more, but I can't keep my eyes open any longer. I desperately need sleep, but I really really really wanted to post this chapter for everyone so they had something to read tomorrow before the next new ep! YAY! But again, thank you so much for reading! I hope that I'll get to meet more of you some time soon! No pressure to review, tho. :)

And now, I must leave you all. I've gotten REALLY busy with clients lately, so I'll be lucky if I get a chapter posted once a week. Bear with me, and hopefully around this time next week, I'll have another chapter waiting for you. :) Have a great day, everybody! Thank you so much for your support and kind words. Much appreciated and much love to you all!

Oh, and I can't forget to thank my two betas, prplerayne and Leanne. You guys have definitely helped me out a LOT with my story, staying up to talk to me when I needed help coming up with ideas and proofreading. You guys ROCK!! THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!

Stay tuned, more story coming soon!

-DK


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright, kids, dinner is almost ready! Why don't you all go into the living room for a few minutes while I get everything finished up in here?" Mrs. Messer yelled above the ever increasing volume in the kitchen. She had sensed the tension between Danny and Lindsay the moment Uncle Carl mentioned them hooking up and knew they still had a few things to work out between each other before anything like that could happen. Call it a mother's instinct or a woman's intuition. There was something holding back their feelings for each other. Either way, she wanted to protect her son, which she did by forcing everyone out of the kitchen before an awkward conversation began.

"Danny, could you be a darling and help me with the table?" Mrs. Messer called back her son as she started to take the stack of antique China plates embellished with colorful flowers all around their borders from one of the cabinets to the left of the kitchen sink.

"Sure, Mama," Danny was happy to oblige, grabbing the plates. As he passed Lindsay at the breakfast bar, he gave her a nudge and asked, "Can you help me?"

"Yeah, sure; what do you need me to do?" she replied, slowly standing up on wobbly legs. Lindsay was still slightly intoxicated from the wine, but was beginning to sober up now that she had something to do.

"I need you to grab the silverware and napkins from my mom and help me set the table," he answered, walking into the dining room that was connected to the kitchen by an open threshold.

"No problem." Lindsay breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Danny wasn't pressing the issue her comment to Uncle Carl had brought up. Sure, she thought he was a nice guy an all, but they were just friends, that was all. At least that's what she kept telling herself. There was still that undercurrent of want and desire every time she glanced at him. Danny Messer was gorgeous, there was no denying that, but Lindsay knew that relationships went beyond the physical and that looks didn't matter as much as personality. Well, he did have that going as well, especially the way they managed to play off each other's flirting in the lab. 'Dammit! Stop that!' Lindsay chided herself, getting frustrated all over again with the way her thoughts seemed to be taking on a life of their own and blaming the alcohol for it all. She needed something else to focus on and when she saw Mrs. Messer digging all the intricately decorated silverware that matched the flower patterned plates out of another cabinet to the right of the sink, she knew she'd found her distraction. "I'll take those," Lindsay said, holding out her arms waiting to receive them.

"Thank you, dear," the elder Messer said with a wide grin reminiscent of Danny's as she handed the silverware along with a stack of crimson colored cloth napkins to the younger woman standing beside the kitchen counter. The girl was definitely making an impression on her, and she quickly began to realize maybe Uncle Carl was right about these two.

"You're very welcome," Lindsay politely replied as she gave her a bright smile in return. She turned and headed towards the dining room to help Danny with the table.

Not having been given the grand tour of the house, Lindsay got the shock of a lifetime when she saw the enormous size of the room. It looked as if it had been made specifically for a large family, especially with the behemoth of a table measuring at least twenty feet in length and five feet wide, made of dark lacquered cherry. There were at least forty chairs in the same wood and finish wrapped around it with beautifully patterned cream colored cloth seats.

Danny was slowly rounding the table, setting each plate exactly six inches away from the edge. He looked up for a moment to see the shock still present on Lindsay's face and said, "Amazing, huh?"

"Uh, yeah!" Lindsay replied, still awestruck. "It's unbelievable."

"We Messers go out of our way when it comes to food. Live to eat is our motto," Danny proudly declared. "This table has gotten a lot of use over the years."

"So, what should I do?" Lindsay asked, delicately setting the silverware and cloth napkins down on the beautifully finished wooden table so they wouldn't scratch it, although it's surface looked pretty worn as it was.

Danny put the rest of his plates down and walked over to where Lindsay stood. He picked up a crimson napkin, folding it in the center on a diagonal, then folding it down the center again so that it formed a triangle. He placed it on top of the plate so that the tip was pointed towards the right. The silverware was set on top of the napkin, knife on the left, fork in the center, and spoon on the right. "That's basically how you set the table," Danny said with a smile as he returned to his job. Lindsay followed his example, and soon the two had a good rhythm going. She followed him around the table, folding and placing silverware on each plate.

Every so often, they'd bump into each other when Danny took a little too much time making sure each plate was placed a perfect six inches away from the edge of the table and in line with the rest of the China. Lindsay was slowly becoming annoyed with him. She never knew he could be such a perfectionist, and it was making her job go slower than she would have liked. "Move it along, Danny. Are you really that OCD?" Lindsay finally griped as she watched him fiddle with the plate, adjusting its angle several times before he was happy.

"Excuse me for being thorough! I know how my mom likes the table, and if it isn't perfect, she's not gonna be happy," Danny retorted as he turned towards her with a scowl present on his handsome face.

"You're such a mama's boy," Lindsay teased as she started to fold another napkin and place it on top of the plate he'd just put down. Without warning, something soft hit her in the head and she looked up to find that Danny had stolen a napkin and thrown it at her in retaliation. "Oh, you are so dead!" she shrieked, grabbing the napkin she'd placed on the plate and throwing it at him, hitting Danny right in the face. A high pitched giggle erupted from her mouth as she watched his eyes darken in annoyance.

"You asked for it, Montana!" Danny playfully warned before lunging for her. Lindsay's quick reflexes had her scurrying quickly around the table, avoiding his advances. They continued to chase each other around the dining room, playing cat and mouse, where Danny was the cat and Lindsay was the mouse. She continually managed to escape his advances, prompting her to laugh even harder when he nearly tripped on the leg of one of the chairs. "Ow!" he bellowed, hopping on one foot.

Lindsay quickly stopped laughing, her face becoming concerned as she stood still, softly panting from the excursion. "You okay?" she asked, slowly stepping towards him to see if he needed help. She was beginning to feel bad for letting this go on for too long and possibly injuring him.

Danny looked up at her, a mischievous glint in his sapphire eyes and that ever annoying half grin present on his lips. Lindsay was right where he wanted her. Just as she was realizing this had all been a ruse and turned to get away, he'd enveloped her in a big bear hug, pressing her back against his chest, and started to tickle her ribs. Another high pitched fit of giggling burst from her mouth as she tried desperately to get away from him, but she knew she was no match for his strength and quickly cried, "Uncle!"

"Not so tough now, eh, Montana?" Danny breathed into her ear as he continued to hold her against his chest.

It sent a shiver down her spin, feeling his warm breath brush up against her skin. "You're incorrigible!" Lindsay heaved, trying to force out the strange feelings creeping into her mind yet again.

It didn't help when he tightened his arms around her body and leaned in closer, whispering, "Don't go throwing another napkin at me, then." Danny had no idea what kind of effect he was having on her, but he knew the effect she was having on him. The soft, caramel strands of her hair brushed up against his cheek as he leaned against her sending an unexpected wave of electricity through his body and the warmth of her back on his chest was more than enough to make his breath hitch when she pressed into him. He quickly let go before things got even weirder.

Lindsay straightened out her shirt before grabbing her pile of napkins and silverware and heading towards the other side of the table. She was slightly shaken by her sudden unexpected feelings and needed a little time away from her colleague to sort them out. Folding the napkins and placing the silverware on top of them while Danny finished setting down the China seemed like the perfect way to take her mind off what she was feeling.

"You forgot one," he said, making Lindsay look up at him slightly confused. He held up a fork she'd left beside the last finished plate.

Lindsay leaned over the table to grab it from him, her right hand out and ready to take it, her left resting firmly against the table top in front of her, keeping her balanced. Danny bent forward over the table to hand her the fork, but just as she was about to grasp it, he let go prematurely and the fork came crashing points down on top of the hand that was keeping her balanced.

"Ow! Shit!" Lindsay yelped when the sharp metal made contact with her delicate skin. She quickly drew her hand back, holding the injured appendage against her chest. "Danny!" she howled, her eyes narrowing at him.

"Oh, my God, Lindsay!" His voice was full of concern as he rushed to her side of the table and took her hand so he could assess the damage. "I'm so sorry," Danny apologized when he saw the small pattern of red welts appearing on her smooth skin, but luckily no blood had been drawn. He ran his thumb over the top of her hand and asked, "Does this hurt?" as he gazed up into her chocolaty brown eyes to gauge her reaction when he pressed on it slightly. Lindsay winced and yelped again, the pain uncomfortable but tolerable. Danny continued to massage the bruised area as she stared at him in anger and annoyance.

"Lemmie try something," he said, bringing her hand up so it was level with his chin. "My mom used to do this all the time and it always made me feel better." Their eyes locked once again as he bent down, placing a soft kiss on top of the bruise.

Lindsay froze the instant his soft lips touched her skin. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, a current of emotions, the more prevalent of which being desire, washed over her as she stared into those deep sapphire eyes. Never had she realized their true depths until this moment, how they managed to swallow her whole and make her never want to turn away.

Just as suddenly as it happened, it was over, a flush enveloping Lindsay's body turning her cheeks a rosy pink. The gesture had been so quick and so unexpected; she'd been caught completely off guard. It was amazing what kind of effect even the smallest signs of affection he showed towards her did to her body. It baffled Lindsay how she had suddenly come to the realization that maybe going out on one date wouldn't be such a bad idea.

"Feel better now?" Danny asked, giving her that half smile she loved and hated so much. But words failed to form on Lindsay's tongue, so she just nodded, her eyes completely captivated by his gaze. They continued to stand there and stare at each other, holding their breaths for someone to say something until the shrill buzz of a cell phone broke the silence and ended the moment.

Lindsay jumped, her hand quickly pulling away from his and reaching for the cell phone in her back pocket. "Mom," read the caller ID. "Excuse me, I have to take this," Lindsay barely managed to whisper as she ducked out of the dining room before Danny even had a chance to ask who it was. She walked into the hallway, the phone still ringing in her hand, as Izzy passed by her heading towards the kitchen.

"Hey, Lindsay, where are you going?" she asked, stopping her before she opened the door. The older woman looked flushed and startled as she turned towards Izzy and stared blankly at her for a couple of moments before everything began to register.

"Phone call; I've gotta take it," Lindsay replied, finally snapping out of her daze. "Could you help Danny with the table? I left him to finish it by himself and I kinda feel bad."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Izzy said in understanding. "You go do what you gotta do."

"Thanks!" Lindsay called before she headed out the door, Danny's coat wrapped around her shoulders to keep her warm. Izzy watched as the door closed behind her, pondering what was going on and why Lindsay looked as if she'd just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She shrugged it off for the moment, stepping into the kitchen before entering the dining room.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It's an UPDATE! Finally, after keeping you all in suspense for the last two weeks, I've got something for you to read!! Good thing there isn't a new ep of NY this week, cuz that means I can focus on all the OTHER stuff I've still gotta do. Holy CRAP it's been CRAZY! First, I decided to change the direction of this story, because what I had written before didn't have the right ring to it. Second, I've gotten some pretty damn big accounts in terms of business, so I haven't had as much time to write as I would like, which is why it took so damn long for me to finish this chapter and post it. But it was worth it, right? I seriously hope so! Hehe. Sooo sorry about taking so damn long to post. Seriously, life got nutty, and now that I've sorted through most of it, hopefully I'll be able to post more often.

Wow... This is the first time I don't have to respond to Anon. reviews, but I do have to respond to all those of you who have faved me and have put me on their alerts. You guys are AWESOME! And, of course, The Lurkers, who are also one bunch of awesome people in their own right, because, face it, you're the one's I'm really writing this story for. You're the ones that keep hitting me up! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

Well, I guess that's it from me for the time being. As always, reviews, comments, questions, etc. are always welcome! Thank you all for the support you've given me as I've been writing this story. HUGE KUDOS to my betas: prplerayne, Leanne, and roswellwbfan. This story wouldn't have been as great without you guys nitpicking. Give 'em a hand, people! They deserve it!! I can't thank you guys ENOUGH! You guys are TOTALLY FREAKIN AWESOME!!

Alright, enough from me. Thanks again! Stay tuned, more story coming soon!

-DK


	8. Chapter 8

Danny was standing in front of the table staring at the stack of crimson napkins in front of him, his eyes just as blank as Lindsay's had been when they ran into each other in the hall. "Hey, Cuz," Izzy said, startling him into attention. His head snapped up at the sound of her voice and that blank expression quickly disappeared from his eyes.

"Hey, Izzy," Danny nervously replied, giving her a weary half smile before grabbing a napkin and starting to fold it.

"I just ran into Lindsay and she asked me if I could give you a hand," she responded, taking stock of what still needed to be done. More than half of the plates were still stacked on top of each other waiting to be put in front of their respective chairs, only about a quarter of the plates on the table actually had the napkins and silverware already neatly placed on top, and there wasn't a glass in sight. Yeah, this table still needed a lot of work.

"Oh, well, um, yeah, that would be great," Danny said, still slightly on edge.

"You okay?" Izzy asked as she set down her next plate so it was even with the rest of the table. She sensed something was bothering her cousin, and ventured a guess that it probably had to do with Lindsay.

"I'm fine," he answered, straightening up when he realized she'd picked up on the strange vibe.

"You just seemed a bit off," she idly chatted, trying to make conversation. "Did something just happen between you and Lindsay?"

"That's none of your business," Danny was quick to dismiss her question. He shot Izzy a glare that told her she was walking on eggshells. It only served to make her all the more curious.

"So you two aren't romantically involved? Because it sure does seem that way," Izzy said as she moved to the next chair, her eyes gazing up at him boldly. "I mean, I've heard a few things from Uncle George and Aunt Clara about you and Lindsay. You seem to talk about her a whole lot, like some of the things you guys do at work that aren't so work related. I heard this one story about you carrying her across a roof as part of an experiment. To me, that doesn't sound like work…"

"I said that's none of your business," Danny growled in order to shut her up, his eyes narrowing fearsomely at short young woman. "Why should I even tell you anything? It not like you've been too forthcoming with information about your life. You never even bothered to tell me you had a boyfriend, for three years none the less!" His jaw became somewhat stiff as the anger he felt for being the last to know something so important began to bubble up inside.

"Hey! It's not all my fault! If I remember correctly, you were the one who you wouldn't give me more than five minutes to talk to you!" Izzy shot back. Now her anger was beginning to bubble over as she thought back to almost every single phone conversation they had while she was in Chicago. They were all short and unimportant, except for the one about Louie, and even then, he still cut her off after having said what he needed to say, leaving Izzy to sit there and wonder what had happened between her and her cousin to make him become so distant.

"Well, I'm sorry if life got in the way!" Danny retorted somewhat condescendingly as he became defensive. But they both knew he was lying. Just the fact that he had to look away from her told her everything she needed to know. Izzy knew Danny like the back of her hand, having spent most of her life practically attached to his hip. He'd taught her everything she knew, from the way she could read people to the way she talked to them, and if there was one person she knew how to read and talk to, it was him.

Izzy's head shot up, her crystal blue eyes sparkling with emotions so intense, Danny had only caught glimpses of them when they were younger. Such intensity meant that she was angry, confused, or frustrated. In this instance, it was probably all three. Danny knew something was very wrong, and he quickly braced himself for the hailstorm she was about to send his way. It was a rare occurrence when Izzy held something in until she was able to speak privately to the person her outburst was directed at. Until today, Danny had never been on the receiving end, but that was all about to change. She had every right to be angry with him; after all, they'd barely spoken in five years. There was probably a lot of anger she harbored towards him, but nothing could have prepared Danny for what she was about to say.

"BULL SHIT!" Izzy yelled, her anger finally reaching its pinnacle and startling him into a shocked stare. "Come on, Danny! You've become distant with me, and I don't know why!" she finally replied after having stared daggers into him for several moments, her voice high pitched and thick with exasperation. Izzy set down the plate she held in her hands and narrowed her gaze at him, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. This storm had been brewing for quite some time now, and no matter how many phone calls they shared, she was never able to find the right moment to bring this up. But now that they were face to face, she cut loose all the emotions she'd managed to keep hidden ever since he ditched her graduation.

"It seems like I don't even know you anymore! In the last five years, we haven't had a single conversation that's lasted longer than five minutes; except for the time you called to tell me about what happened to Louie, and even then you wouldn't let me get more than a few words in! We might have seen each other that one Christmas three years ago, but even then things were tense between us! And then there's the fact that you never came to visit me either! I could understand if you only came to visit me once a year, but staying away for five whole years? I don't think you'd ever be able to come up with an excuse for that, so don't even try!" She spit out those last few words, her voice dripping with disdain. "But that's not what hurt me the most. No, not even close! You know what ripped my heart out? You, the person who told me to follow my dreams, the person who encouraged me even when everyone else thought I was crazy for pursuing a career in the arts, didn't even show up to my graduation from the school **_YOU_** helped me get into! It was a fucking slap in the face to look up and find your seat empty. You have no idea how much you hurt me that day." Although her tears still hadn't broken through the delicate dam she'd built around her heart, her voice conveyed every last ounce of anger and pain she felt. It shook like the rest of her body, the resentment slowly building up and pushing her to the very fringes of her mental stability. There wasn't much holding her back from bursting that delicate bubble around her heart that so desperately needed to express all the feelings she'd kept locked inside for so many years.

Danny sighed; no matter what he said to her right now, she'd still be angry, but the least he could do was try to explain why he wasn't able to make it. "If it's any consolation to you, I really wanted to be there, because I know how important it was to you. I had been the one that pushed you into going to art school and I'd always been the one to tell you to follow your dreams, but you have to understand something. The case that fell on my desk the day before I was scheduled to leave was one I couldn't get away from. A CSI was killed, and Mac needed everyone in the lab because the son of a bitch who did it had killed before." Danny kept his words to a minimum and his descriptions vague. If he even so much as hinted who the victim was, not only would it anger Izzy, he probably wouldn't be able to contain his own emotions. He settled for that delicate gray area that left things open to interpretation.

Aiden was the last person Danny wanted to think about right now. After everything he'd gone through in the past year and a half that concerned her made his heart ache. She'd been his best friend and partner for three years, but that day she'd decided to tamper with evidence and throw away her career had hurt him. As much as that hurt, he'd still managed to accept that she didn't want to do this job anymore and forgave her for what she'd done. But what had thrown him through the ringer was the moment he realized it was her body they found charred beyond recognition in that stolen car. Danny had already been on pins and needles after Louie's hospitalization weeks before; hearing of Aiden's death practically sent him spiraling out of control. He was eternally grateful that he had friends like those at the lab, all of who felt the blow just as much, if not more, as he had. They were their own support group, and soon, his heart began to heal. But he knew that didn't give him the right to ignore his family.

"I'm so sorry, Izzy, I really am." Danny's apology was sincere even though it didn't make her feel any better. If anything, she became even angrier at him, and it quickly showed when she started to speak once more.

"That still doesn't explain why you couldn't come see me at any other point during these past five years that I've been living in Chicago. Or why you can't seem to stay on the phone with me longer than five minutes. I've really missed you, Danny. I've missed our long talks about everything and nothing. I've missed hanging out with you. I've missed your presence. Most of all, I've missed having my big brother around to protect me and comfort me. You have no idea how many times I've wanted to come home just so I could tell you about the crappy day I was having and cry on your shoulder while you hugged me. You have no idea how many times I've needed you to tell me everything was going to be okay after it seemed like my world had fallen apart. But you weren't there! Even when I tried to talk to you, it was like you didn't give a damn! Why, Danny? What did I ever do to deserve the cold shoulder from you?" Izzy's voice cracked as the dam that had been holding back all her pent up emotions finally burst allowing the tears to spring forth and mix freely with the mascara covering her long lashes, each droplet leaving a gray streak down her pale cheeks.

Having stood on the other side of the table long enough, Danny quickly close the gap between them when Izzy started to cry and wrapped his arms around her. At first, she was resistant to his affection, trying to push him away, but soon her weight pressed into his chest as her head fell against his shoulder and her weeping reached a fevered pitch. "I'm so sorry, Izzy," Danny whispered in her ear before kissing the top of her forehead. So many years had passed since he'd seen his little cousin fall apart like this, and only now was he beginning to realize just how deep of an impact his cold shoulder had on her. He deeply regretted not talking with her about his feelings of abandonment, not sorting this out before it even got to this point. But it had, and now he felt guilty. It was Louie all over again, but this time he had a chance to fix things before they became any worse.

"Why, Danny, why?" Izzy continued to cry as she clung to him for dear life, her right arm wrapped over his left shoulder while her left arm draped around his waist, her fingers digging into the soft fabric of his hoodie as she let everything loose for the first time in several years. The last time she'd cried this hard was back in high school when she was being constantly harassed by her classmates for being overweight. Danny saw the child coming out in her, the scared, broken, insecure little girl he remembered from when they were younger, and he instinctively tightened his hold around her now tiny waist as he ran his fingers through her hair in that calming motion that always used to put her at ease.

Izzy pulled away, her eyes red and puffy from crying, and stared at him, the question she posed still written all over her face. Danny sighed, pulling two chairs away from the table and motioning for her to sit down. She sat, her body facing him, crystal blue eyes locked onto sapphire, desperately waiting for an answer. After so many years, Danny thought he'd become immune to that kicked puppy expression she gave him, but he was beginning to realized that no matter how many times it crossed her pretty face, he'd always fall for it. And suddenly, everything came spilling forth, just as it had with Lindsay. "Because, Izzy, I thought you were abandoning me," Danny finally confessed, his expression becoming solemn as he began to walk through his own personal hell. "For eighteen years, you and I were practically inseparable. I was your rock and you were mine. Then all of a sudden you decide to go to Chicago and leave me here, alone…" He had to pause for a moment, choking down the sudden flood of emotions that nearly overpowered his senses while looking for the right words to express what he felt.

"Danny…" Izzy softly sighed, picking up on the emotions running amuck in his mind. She placed her right hand behind his neck and pulled him to her, letting their foreheads touch as their eyes remained locked. A gentle smile graced her still trembling lips showing that she was finally beginning to understand what was going on. Izzy had no idea what her cousin had been through in the last couple of years and didn't realize just how much her decision to leave New York for Chicago would affect him, but it was suddenly becoming all too clear now that she was gazing into those sapphire pools of his eyes and seeing the pain swirling within them.

"Why did you leave, Izzy?" Danny asked on the brink of his own tears. He held back, though, not wanting to look like he was falling apart although she knew well enough that this was something he had trouble letting go of.

Izzy found herself wondering why she really had gone to Chicago. As much as she wanted to say it was for school, she had so many other motives that she'd never let on to anyone, even Danny. But now that they were sitting here, bearing their souls to each other and the pain of not being in each other's lives for five years, she knew she had to tell him. Gently rubbing the back of his neck with her fingers to hopefully put his mind at ease, Izzy finally answered, "Because I needed to get away from this city. I needed to get away from overbearing family and so called friends. I needed to get away from everyone and find myself."

"But you coulda found yourself in Jersey or even Boston," Danny interrupted. She put a finger to his lips, hushing him before he could ruin her train of thought. There was a lot on Izzy's mind that she needed to tell him, but if he didn't keep his mouth shut, there was a good chance they'd never find a moment like this ever again.

"Lemmie finish, Danny. Please, I wanna talk now, so not a word from you until I'm done," she said before taking her finger off his lips. Izzy was finished with his interruptions. He'd done that enough in the past, now it was her turn to talk. "I needed to see what else the world had to offer. I needed to find my place in it. Getting accepted to Columbia, I knew I found my chance to get out of this city and experience something new. I wanted a fresh start in a place where people wouldn't recognize me. I wanted to become someone that I knew I couldn't become in New York; a strong, confident, career minded, self sufficient woman. If I had stayed here, you and everyone else would have smothered me." Izzy could see Danny start to open his mouth, but before he uttered a word of protest, she was again pressing her fingers to his lips. "What did I say about interruptions?" she sharply snapped.

Danny put his arms up in surrender and kept his mouth shut, allowing Izzy to continue. "Like I said, you guys would have smothered me! I never would have been able to experience what life was like being self reliant. Don't get me wrong, I love you from the bottom of my heart, but there are times where it can just be too much and I need to get away. After high school, I really needed to get away. I was sick of being known as the fat girl with the hot tempered shadow. I know you were only trying to help me, Danny, but during my senior year, everyone was afraid to even talk to me after what you did to Vinny! Not one guy had the balls to even look at me when I passed by in the halls. Hell, even my guy friends were so scared of you that they stopped talking to me! Now do you see what I mean?"

Sighing and nodding, Danny understood what she was saying. "I'm sorry, Izzy. I never meant for that to happen," he apologized once again, earning him a weary smile from the young woman in front of him.

"You don't have to keep apologizing. I know you didn't mean it, I'm just trying to make a point," Izzy replied. "Because of you, and pretty much the entire family being so overprotective of me, I needed some breathing room. I needed a second chance to experience things I never got to experience here, like dating."

She paused for a moment, waiting to see if Danny would jump all over her words, but he remained silent, just as she'd asked him to. Another smile graced her face and she continued, "I knew what you would have done had I brought a boyfriend over to the house while I was in high school. You would have interrogated him mercilessly, and he'd dump me. In Chicago, I didn't have to worry about that. I didn't have to worry about a guy being scared off by my family, and that made me all the more confident. And don't think for one second that Matt has been my one and only, because he hasn't. There were several weeds I went through before I found him and realized that he was the one." It earned Izzy that overprotective older brother glare she used to get in high school when she wanted to do something he didn't approve of, prompting her to reply, "Give him a chance, Danny. He's the best thing that's happened to me since you."

"Aren't you a little too young to know if this guy really is 'the one?'" Danny finally asked, his eyes still narrowed at her.

"Aren't you a little too old to still be looking for 'the one?'" Izzy promptly retorted. It was a slap in the face for her cousin, making his jaw drop for an instant until he realized what he was doing and quickly shut his mouth before Izzy laid into him about his relationship with Lindsay. She gave him that trademark Messer half grin before adding, "Matt is an amazing guy. He has always treated me with respect. He has always been there for me. He even helped me lose all the weight by going to the gym with me and jogging on the beach or down Michigan Avenue. He's kind and caring and sincere and loyal and trustworthy and smart and funny and sweet and…"

"Aright, already! I get it! Matt's a good guy!" Danny finally stopped her before she made him nauseous again. "Jeez, you already made me sick with all the PDA's. I don't need the rest of the fluffy details."

Izzy giggled at the shade of green he was beginning to turn after all he'd heard her say. 'Good thing I didn't mention he was also good in bed,' she snidely thought to herself. Saying that would have gotten her beaten to a pulp. She was supposed to be the sweet, innocent Catholic girl. If only Danny knew some of the things she'd done in college. She was beginning to think that maybe it was better that he remained distant, because lord knows what he would have done to her had he found out any of her dirty little secrets. Instead, she replied, "Once you get to know him, you'll see why I love him so much."

"I'll try," Danny said. "But I'm not making any promises."

Izzy gave him a genuine smile. At least he was going to try, and that's all that really mattered to her. She wrapped her arms around him in another warm hug then let go, standing up to finish what had been started over half an hour ago. Danny followed, grabbing the napkins and folding them so at least he had one thing finished. "So, how did you guys meet?" he casually asked, even though he still harbored some animosity towards the situation and the circumstances.

Practically gushing, Izzy replied, "Well, you see, I was working at the Starbucks around the corner from the dorms. I was a store manager and he was my assistant manager. I knew him from school, having seen him in a few of my classes and around the dorms. We got to know each other, and I really started to like him. One day, out of the blue, he asks me out. Now, granted, I wasn't the prettiest girl in the store; there were some absolutely gorgeous women working for me at the time. But he'd chosen me over them. Oh, my God, Danny! I don't think I've ever been so excited in my life!"

Danny couldn't help but smile at her obvious happiness. He could still remember the days when she was too shy to even talk to a guy. But with him around teaching her the ropes, she became more confident and slowly started to go after what she wanted. Although it wasn't really the case here, at least she got what she needed, and that was someone who cared about her just as much as he did. A few points went on Matt's side of the board, considering he'd looked past Izzy's weight and saw her for the person she was. So maybe he was a good guy… He'd find out soon enough.

Izzy continued talking, oblivious to Danny's wandering mind, "That night, he took me to Navy Pier where we had dinner at this restaurant called Joe's Be-Bop Café and we rode the Ferris wheel. It was so much fun! And the whole time, he was a complete gentleman. He wouldn't even let me pay for my dinner. But I managed to convince him to let me pay for the Ferris wheel. While we were at the top, he kissed me… Oh, God, it was just surreal! Talk about fairy tale kisses… This was it! I mean, it was just magical!" More points for Matt.

"Izzy, you're ever the romantic," Danny chuckled after he folded his last napkin and set it down on the table.

"Oh, and you're not?" she retorted, her eyes rolling dramatically as she cocked her head to the side and stared at him. "You've got the knight in shining armor complex! How else can you explain Lindsay spending Christmas Day with us after being stranded in New York? Doesn't she have any relatives out here to spend the holidays with?"

"Well, she's got an uncle, but I think he left for Montana before the storm," he answered. "Besides, I really didn't like the idea of her spending Christmas at Grand Central all alone."

"And why is that, Danny? Because you like her?" Izzy teasingly ventured. Her eyes remained fixed on his face watching the myriad of emotions that crossed it until his expression finally darkened and went completely blank.

It seemed as if Danny had lost himself in thought as he stared at the dining room table and picked at a frayed edge of the last napkin he folded. In all actuality, he was thinking about Lindsay and what had transpired between the two of them in the last ten hours, although technically most of them had been spent asleep. There were still plenty of things he could point out that led him to his decision on how to handle the whole fork drop earlier, but what stuck out in his mind the most had been her response to Uncle Carl's suggestion that she give him a chance.

_"We'll see."_

Danny's heart had leapt in his chest with her words, and for a moment, he thought maybe she wasn't so opposed to the idea of the two of them going out, even if it was for just one date. It was something he wanted to talk to her about, but was too afraid to even suggest it considering she was in a foreign setting and that his family was crawling all over the place, hell bent on getting the two of them together come hell or high water. No, Danny wasn't going to stand for that. He wanted their decision to be just that, their decision. He hated being pushed into things, most of all relationships. It hadn't worked in high school, when Izzy or Tony or any number of his cousins tried to get him to go out with their friends. Danny was sick of those awful blind dates and decided to take matters into his own hands by telling them to stay the hell out of his love life. It had done the trick, and they left him alone although they couldn't resist the occasional suggestion of who they deemed appropriate for him to ask out.

"I know that face," Izzy was quick to knock Danny back into reality. He glanced in her direction to see the smug smile gracing her pretty pink lips. "You do like her."

Danny sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was tell her what she wanted to hear, even though he knew it was true. As much as he needed to talk to someone about the situation, Izzy really wasn't that person considering everything they'd just been through. They were still on fragile ground and had plenty of fences to mend before he could trust her with such sensitive information. After all, she seemed to be the one pushing them towards a relationship. He wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of telling everyone it was her idea.

"We're just friends," Danny brushed off her comment, his eyes flicking away from her for a split second and immediately sending up a red flag in his cousin's mind.

Izzy instantly got the hint that she wasn't about to get anything out of him where Lindsay was concerned. Putting her hands on her hips and giving him the dirtiest, angriest look she could muster, Izzy practically squeaked, "But I just told you all about Matt!"

"Yes you did. And do you not also remember telling me that you left so that you could become your own person, do things on your own? So why does that apply to you but suddenly not to me? I know you got your opinion about me and my love life—" he broke off and held up a hand when it looked like Izzy was about to interrupt. "Okay, lack of a love life. And you can tell me whatever you want but at least give me the courtesy of the space I gave you. Unintentional though it may have been, the time we've spent apart let you find Matt. So let me find someone myself, my way, without that overbearing suffocation you managed to avoid, okay?"

Izzy's angry expression told him she wasn't too happy being left in the dark. Danny sighed, aware that she really had his best interests at heart but unable to shake the notion that he couldn't let anything that happened between him and Lindsay be a result of his family's meddling. That had happened before… he'd gone out with girls to please his family and eventually one or both of them had yelled at the other that the only reason they'd ever agreed to even go on one date was to shut his family up. His stomach turned at the thought of Lindsay yelling that at him, saying that she'd only agreed to go out with him out of pity. He shook his head as he made up his mind.

"Sorry, kiddo. I know that this interest is coming from a good place and I appreciate it, I really do. But I think we need to agree to stay out of this area of each other's lives. We've taken some good steps here to rebuild what we had, and I don't wanna screw it up by getting overly involved in your love life or by you pushing too hard into mine."

"Yes, Danny, it does come from a good place. And I know you. Maybe bringing Lindsay here was a friendly gesture but—" Danny stood up with narrowed sapphire eyes and Izzy gaped for a moment at the hard set of his jaw.

"Can you honestly tell me that anything me or anyone else in the family has to say would influence your feelings about Matt?" Izzy blinked at Danny's question.

"Okay, random," Izzy began, her lips curling upwards, but stopped smiling when she saw her attempt at humor had failed. "No," she began and her jaw became set like Danny's. "No. Nothing anyone says could change how much I love him." Danny was nodding before she'd finished speaking.

"It's too important, right?" he asked and Izzy nodded, her face turning solemn. Danny just looked at her until her shoulders slumped forward, defeated.

"I get it. It's too important," Izzy mumbled.

Danny nodded and took her hands in his. "I really want us to get to that place we were before, Izzy, and I think to do that we're gonna need boundaries to help us find our way, okay?"

"Danny! Could you come in here for a minute?" his mother yelled from the kitchen, effectively ending the conversation. Danny raised an eyebrow at Izzy who nodded and shooed him away. She knew he was right, and there was nothing she could really do about it aside from give him the space he so desperately wanted. After all, he'd given her room to breathe; now she had to return the favor. Izzy sighed and continued setting the table by herself.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Okay, so I chose a completely different angle for this chapter, but trust me when I say there's a rhyme to my reason! Anyway, it's been a VERY crazy week full of meetings and projects and job offers, and OMG! Yesterday was probably one of the best days of my life, LOL! Eep! I can't really give the details because I've been sworn to secracy, but here's what I can tell you: You just might see a clothing line I helped to design in a Sears near you!

Alright, enough about me. Onto those of you who weren't able to sign in and review:

Leanne: I'm so glad I changed the direction of this story. It's just getting better and better with every chapter I write. Thanks for all your wonderful comments and suggestions too! You've really been a HUGE help. :) So thank you very much! I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

PRTFCSI: Hold your horses, dear! Danny and Lindsay still have a ways to go before they get together, but it'll happen, eventually. :) I'm just gonna drag it out a little longer, hehe. I know, torture, but you gotta agree with me when I say it makes a story more interesting. :) And I'm glad you like my new sig! It's so cute, hehe. :) Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the last one!

The Lurkers: I love you guys!! I really do!! I love watching the hits keep going up, and it's all because of you! So a HUGE thanks to you guys!! You all ROCK!!

Everybody: I can NEVER thank you enough for reading and reviewing! I know I keep repeating myself when I say that, but I can't seem to stress is enough! You guys keep me going! And I thank you whole heartedly for that!! You're all ROCK STARS!!! Mwah!!

Alright, slowly getting to the end. :) I wanna send a HUGE shout out to my beta, roswellwbfan, who has been a key player in the revision of this story. Shit, this girl is AMAZING! You wanna talk about one of the coolest people on the planet, this is it! She definitely played an enormous part in the revision of this chapter, and even wrote some of the last bit of it after my muse, Paris, refused to give me a coherent thought. So, a GINORMOUS THANK YOU goes out to her this week. And, because she helped me, I'm gonna give her a little hand, altho I wanted to do this for a while now. Go check out her story, "Captive." Trust me, if you're enjoying mine, you'll fall head over heels in love with hers! It's THAT amazing!! So go check it out!!

Of course, I gotta thank my other betas, prplerayne (she's also writing an awesome story called "Don't Take The Girl" so check that one out too, cuz it's chalk FULL of amazing and cute and funny DL moments for those of you who are desperately craving more!) and Leanne. You gals are awesome in your own right, so don't forget that! You all help me in unique ways, be it listening to my ideas or making grammar and spelling corrections. That's just as important as the story itself. So HUGE THANK YOU to BOTH of you. And a really quick special thanks to Shelbers, who has also given me a few pointers when I've needed them. Thanks guys!! I LOVE YOU!!!

And now, my final words... I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even tho it was Danny/Izzy centric. Hopefully now that things have calmed down, I'll be able to find more time for writing. So stay tuned, more story coming soon!!

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


	9. Chapter 9

"Hi, Mom," Lindsay said once she was out the door and out of earshot from everyone inside the house. The porch provided the perfect secluded spot for having a nice conversation without interruptions. To keep her from being locked out, Lindsay left the door open a crack so she could go back inside once she was done. Danny's coat was the perfect insulator, keeping her warm as she sat down on the bench they had occupied only a little while earlier reminiscing about old times and getting to know each other a little better.

"Hi, sweetheart. How are you? Are you all right? Are you still stuck in New York?" Mrs. Monroe asked in a gentle tone, concerned for her daughter's wellbeing. They had spoken around five that morning with Lindsay telling her she probably wouldn't be home for Christmas. Not having heard from her daughter in nearly twelve hours, she decided to call her, realizing that no news from Lindsay was probably a bad sign, and knowing it would serve as a good distraction from the homesickness she undoubtedly was feeling.

"I'm fine, Mom. And, yes, I'm still stuck in the city," Lindsay answered, her sadness becoming clear over the telephone line as her voice cracked slightly when the homesickness hit her with a force she hadn't expected now that she was talking to her mother. She could hear the joy and excitement of the family opening gifts from the other end, making it all the worse that she wasn't there with them. She hated being stuck in a city where she barely knew anyone; although she realized she'd been blessed with some pretty wonderful people she could call her friends, Danny topping that list.

"Oh, honey, it's alright. You'll make it home eventually. I know how bad the snow is out there, so I understand, as does your father and everyone else. Don't worry," Mrs. Monroe reassured her daughter in a soothing tone. Lindsay gave her a dismal smile even though she knew she couldn't see it.

"But that still doesn't make me feel any better," Lindsay replied, her voice cracking just a little more with every word she spoke. She used the sleeve of Danny's coat to wipe the tear away, but quickly realized what she was doing and ended up switching to her hand instead.

"Sweetheart…" was all her mother could say before Lindsay interrupted her.

"I miss you, Mom," she started to cry when she heard one of her cousins shriek with delight over a gift that had just been opened. "I miss you and Dad and Grandma and Grandpa and everyone else! I should have come home sooner. I should have asked Mac if I could take the week before Christmas off too, so I could have avoided this storm. The Weather Channel kept saying there was a lot on the way, but I didn't believe it. I'm so sorry."

"Lindsay, sweetie, you have nothing to be sorry about. Listen to me, things happen for a reason. Something good is going to come out of this, I promise you," Mrs. Monroe told her daughter before she became even more distraught. "As long as you're safe and warm, then that's all I need in order to have a happy Christmas."

"Well, I'm definitely safe, but warm is a whole other story," Lindsay commented as she glanced at her surroundings and sniffled. The sun had set over an hour ago behind the thick blanket of snow clouds still unleashing their wrath on New York City. They took on a warm glow from the lights of the skyline, a sight she had yet to behold even though she'd lived there for a year and a half now.

Lindsay rarely got out of the city, and even when she did, she was never really able to look at it from this angle. It made her heart flutter, but the tranquility that had settled over her for a split second was quickly lost when her mother asked, "What do you mean? Are you still at the train station? Or did your apartment building lose electricity?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Lindsay assured her. "I'm actually spending Christmas with one of my colleagues and his family. I stepped outside so I could talk to you without being interrupted." She was only now beginning to realize what a godsend Danny's invitation to join his family for the holiday had been. Although they'd been pushy about certain things, they had given her back some of the Christmas spirit she'd lost by not spending today with her own family. They had also spared her from ordering takeout and watching Christmas movies that would probably have made her cry and want to crawl into a hole.

"Oh, who?" her mother questioned, quickly becoming intrigued when she realized Lindsay had said his family, although she had a pretty good idea which colleague it might be.

"Danny," Lindsay softly answered, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was at the door listening in on her conversation. For some reason, she felt the need to check after seeing just how pushy his family was being when it came to the two of them getting together. It made her uncomfortable as well as made her question her feelings for Danny.

"That was nice of him," Mrs. Monroe said, her voice going slightly soft as she thought about it a little more deeply. She knew about her daughter's affinity for her coworker, but she also knew better than to tell her how to live her life, so she stayed in the background, always ready to listen and give advice if needed. "How's it going over there?"

"It's all right, I guess," Lindsay replied flatly, shrugging her shoulders out of habit even though she knew no one could see it. She sighed deeply and slumped down in her seat as she rubbed her forehead with her free hand.

"You guess?" Mrs. Monroe caught the fretful tone of her daughter's voice, knowing all wasn't going well as soon as she spoke. "What do you mean you guess? Is everything all right? Are they treating you well?"

Lindsay sighed deeply. How was she going to explain this to her mother? There was a lot on her mind, especially where her feelings for Danny were concerned. Sucking in another deep breath, she started, "I dunno, Mom. It's been kinda crazy, that's all."

"Crazy, how?" the elder Monroe continued to fire off questions, waiting for her daughter to explain fully before she could think of what to say to make her feel better.

"It's just hard for me to be here, you know? I miss you guys so much that I start to feel guilty if I'm having fun because it's not with you. Don't get me wrong, Danny's family is mostly wonderful. They've made me feel welcome. And Danny, he's been amazing. I don't think I've ever seen him care this much before, and it's really, really nice, but--Arg!" Lindsay couldn't find the words to express just how frustrated and strange she felt. She stood up and started to pace up and down the porch running her free hand through her caramel tresses. "I'm so…I dunno…I can't even begin to explain it. Things are just awkward right now."

"Lindsay, you know you can talk to me about this. I'm listening," her mother assured her with a calm voice even though she felt Lindsay's frustration thousands of miles away. "What's so awkward? Did something happen between you and Danny?"

"No, nothing happened! It's jus that ever since his extended family started to arrive things have just kept getting weirder and weirder between us." Lindsay continued to pace up and down the porch, her eyes flicking towards the door every so often to make sure no one was listening in on her conversation. She kept her voice low, but couldn't keep her pitch from rising the more she thought about her situation and the more frustrated she became.

"But why? Tell me so I can understand sweetheart. I'd really like to help you, but you need to give me some details," Mrs. Monroe replied. She did want to help her daughter, but without being given enough information, there wasn't much she could do aside from saying the default, 'Everything's going to be fine.' That wasn't what Lindsay needed right now. She was seeking out real help, not the superficial kind.

"It's his relatives that are really getting to me, mainly his Uncle Carl and his cousin Izzy. It's like they're both trying to push us into a relationship, and it's putting us in a very odd position. Some of the things that have happened in the last few hours are quite out of the ordinary for us." Lindsay's free hand came up and scratched the back of her neck. It was hard to talk about what was going on, but she knew her mother was the only person she could tell this to.

"What's happened? I thought you said nothing." Now it was Mrs. Monroe's turn to be confused.

"Well, lemmie start at the beginning, because a lot has happened while we've been here," Lindsay began. "It was really nice of Danny to ask me to spend Christmas with his family. I know he cares a lot about his friends, and he when he sees that one of us are in trouble, he's the first one to step up and try to fix the situation, or make us feel better. I know it was a friendly gesture, but I kept wondering if he had ulterior motives for bringing me here, because it sure seems like his family has heard a lot about me even though we've never met."

"Well, honey, we hear a lot about him too," Mrs. Monroe rationalized. It was true, she knew more about Danny than she ever wanted to. Lindsay talked about him constantly whenever they were on the phone together. And every time, it would be some new story about work that gave her the impression her daughter harbored deeper feelings for this man she really wanted to meet someday.

Lindsay's mouth gaped for a few moments before she realized that her mother was right.

"Alright, fine, so it was probably just a friendly gesture to make me feel better for being stuck in New York on Christmas. But that's not the only thing that's had me confused these last few hours. After I woke up from a really nice nap, his cousin Izzy arrived with her boyfriend, and she's definitely a lot like him in that she's straightforward and quite blunt when it comes to a lot of things. You know what the first thing she asked was?" Lindsay didn't even wait for her mother to reply, she just continued. "She asked if I was his girlfriend!"

"Well honey, that's to be expected. I mean, most people would assume that you were, given the situation. Although most people would wait to be introduced before vocalizing it. So how did that make you feel?" Mrs. Monroe questioned, feeling now was a good time to find out if her assumptions about her daughter's feelings for Danny were right.

"I dunno!" Lindsay stalled for a second, trying to remember what had gone through her mind at that moment. "I felt kinda weird, but then he told her we were just friends, so I guess I was relieved, but since then, more things have happened. Like while we were outside talking about our childhoods; he and Izzy had started talking about his brother, Louie, which is still a very touchy subject with him. I think they resolved the issue somewhat, but Danny still looked pretty upset, so when he said he was going out to get some air, I followed him thinking he'd like some company, without my coat, and, of course, I started to shiver since its pretty cold out here. I mean, it's no Bozeman winter but still. He actually took off his coat, put it around my shoulders, and then took my hands because they were cold and held them in his as we talked. I really started to feel a little odd because I…I kinda liked it. Danny's got such amazing hands; they were warm and gentle! Then he let go. I was a little disappointed, but I tried not to show it."

Before her mother could add a reply, she continued, "It just keeps getting weirder. Soon after that little incident, the rest of his family arrived, including his Uncle Carl, who, by the way, is the most tactless person I've ever met! And I thought Izzy was bad! It seems like the man knows no boundaries when it comes to the things he says. The moment he walked up to me and Danny introduced us, he goes and tells him, and I quote, 'I can't believe you haven't made your move on this one, yet.' The look on Danny's face was priceless. He turned beet red! It would have been so cute, but Danny was very obviously embarrassed. Then he turns to me and says, 'Danny, here, he's a good guy. Give him a chance.' I told him, 'We'll see.' Now, mind you, I was slightly intoxicated at this point. So Danny's eyes shot up and he gave me this look!" Lindsay paused, the image forever burned in her mind as she recalled it. She let her head drop into her hand as she rubbed her temple.

"What kind of look?" her mother asked.

A deep sigh escaped Lindsay's lips as her head bobbed back up. "Uh, I swear, his eyes were so full of hope. I didn't know what to do. And I think that's what really played a huge part in what happened just a few minutes ago."

"And what's that?" her mother asked, still patiently waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Well, we were setting the dinner table because his mom asked us to, who, by the way, is one of the sweetest women you'll ever meet, and he was handing me one of the forks I forgot on the other end when he accidentally dropped it on my hand. I yelled at him because it hurt, so he came over to my side, apologized, and wanted to take a look at it. Then, out of nowhere, he bends down and kisses my hand after giving me the excuse that his mother used to do things like that when he hurt himself.

"Oh my!" Mrs. Monroe gasped.

"I know! It was one of those absolutely surreal moments where you know it's happening, but you still wish someone could pinch you and make sure you weren't dreaming. And then you called."

While Lindsay vented her frustration to her mother, another soul bearing session was about to begin in the kitchen, this time between Danny and his mother. As he sauntered in from the dining room, Danny plopped himself down on one of the empty breakfast bar chairs and waited for his mother to turn away from the stove before he asked her what she wanted from him.

"What are you and Isobel fighting about now?" Mrs. Messer questioned before he even got a chance to say a word. She turned around and gave him that all knowing motherly look as she poured the last of the glaze over the ham and the turkey with the baster.

"Nothing," Danny mumbled without looking up at her. Instead, he started picking the sesame seeds off a loaf of bread.

"Stop that," his mother ordered, swatting his hand away from the bread before he picked off so many seeds that it looked uneven.

"Sorry, Ma," Danny replied, letting his hand drop into his lap.

She put down the turkey baster and walked around the kitchen counter to sit beside him in another one of the empty seats. "What's wrong, Daniel? Something's bothering you. Is it Lindsay?" Mrs. Messer asked, a warm smile lighting up her face as she placed her hand over his. Danny's eyes shot up at her as his mouth hung open wondering how she could have possibly known. She merely chuckled at her son's expression and added, "I heard what you and Isobel were talking about in there. I'm proud of you for resolving your issues with her. She's been very distraught over not having you in her life for the past five years. I'm glad that won't be such a problem anymore. I'm also proud of you for telling her to mind her own business when it comes to your love life. I know you're still looking for 'the one,' as you so bluntly put it, which brings me to Lindsay."

"Are you gonna get on my case about her too?" Danny groaned as he began to stand up and head back into the dining room. As much as he wanted to talk to someone about Lindsay, he wasn't about to let himself get forced into it.

"No, I'm not," Mrs. Messer answered softly, tightening her grip on his hand. Danny stared at her for a moment before he realized that she was being sincere and that she had nothing but good intentions at heart. He sat back down and waited for her to speak again. "You can talk to me about this. I promise what's said between the two of us in this kitchen will just be between the two of us. You don't have to tell me everything, only what you're comfortable with."

Danny sat there for several moments, starting at her, contemplating what he wanted to say. He knew his mother was a good listener, and that she gave some of the best advice in the family, but he was still unsure how much he wanted her to know about his feelings for Lindsay. Danny didn't want to tell her everything considering Izzy was just a room away and that the walls were paper thin, so he decided to go a much simpler route.

Taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes with his fingers, he finally said in almost a whisper, "I like her…a lot." Danny paused for several moments to gather the rest of his thoughts. There were so many things going through his mind that he needed to sort them out before speaking another word. Once he'd managed to somewhat categorize his feelings and emotions, he continued, "Lindsay is so different from all the other girls I've met. She's smart and funny, sarcastic and sincere, and she's absolutely gorgeous inside and out. All this time I've been trying to keep my distance because I've been afraid she only saw me as a friend, but after what she said to Uncle Carl, I wondered if maybe there was something there. I just don't know how to ask her about it."

"What is your heart telling you?" Mrs. Messer asked, also taking the simpler route when it came to giving him advice. Danny could be dense sometimes, which was why she made sure to cover all her bases before figuring out what to tell him.

Although it was quite the serious question, Danny couldn't help but chuckle at it. His mother could be so corny at times, but he knew there was a good reason behind her asking, and he answered with, "Tell her; stop stalling; make a move; quit sitting on your ass waiting for her to make the first move."

"And what's your head telling you?" Mrs. Messer asked and patiently waited while her son gathered his thoughts.

"Take it easy; we've got time; test the waters; make sure she likes you," Danny told her.

"Which one do you feel like listening to?"

Danny sat in quiet thought for a while, weighing both of his options. He knew he wanted to tell Lindsay he liked her and that he wanted to be more than friends, but he was still afraid that her feelings for him weren't as strong. No matter what, he knew that if he didn't ask her how she felt about him, he'd regret it for the rest of his life. That was the last thing he needed, especially after all the regret he already felt for things he'd done in the past that he'd left unresolved to this day. "My heart," Danny finally told her.

"Then go talk to her!" Mrs. Messer ordered as she gave him an encouraging smile.

Danny returned her smile as he bolted out of his seat, but not before placing a kiss on her cheek and saying, "Thanks, Ma!" Before he ran out of the kitchen, he turned around asked, "Do you know where Lindsay is?"

"Well, I did see her stepping outside to answer her phone. Why don't you go see if she's still out there?" his mother suggested.

Danny nodded and made a beeline for the front door. Just as he was about to make a grab for the knob, he felt a cold draft blow over his hand. He paused for a moment, peeking through the crack in the door and found Lindsay sitting on the bench at the far end of the porch, listening to her mother on speakerphone. Bits and pieces of her conversation made its way to his ears, and he could hear that something was definitely bugging her. Danny decided to stand there waiting until she finished before heading outside to finally tell her everything he'd been meaning to tell her. But what he heard of the conversation would have a profound impact on his doubts about her feelings for him.

Lindsay's mom fell silent on the other end, and Lindsay found a bit of comfort in the fact. If her mom was also confused then it meant that Lindsay wasn't overreacting or anything. But eventually the silence got to be too much and Lindsay almost begged for a response.

"I don't know what to think anymore, Mom!" Lindsay was saying as she stood up and began to pace again. Danny plastered himself against the wall beside the door hoping she couldn't see him as she continued to talk. "I've never been in this kind of position before, and now that I am, I don't know how to handle it. I think I like Danny, but I don't know! Everything is just so…confusing. I've got his family pushing us to be together, and I've got my heart and my head battling it out over if I should listen to them or not. What should I do?"

Danny's jaw dropped when he realized she was talking about him with her mother, and it had to do with her feelings no less! 'She likes me?' he had to ask himself before the thought finally processed through his brain. 'Oh, my God! Lindsay Monroe likes me!' Danny's mind yelled in excitement as his heart began to pound in his chest. He couldn't wait for her to get off the phone so he could finally tell her that he liked her too.

Oblivious to the person eavesdropping on her conversation now that her frustration had distracted her from checking over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening in, Lindsay continued to pace the porch, making her way closer to the door as she listened to her mother. Danny strained to hear what was being said, and he managed to get a few bits and pieces from the other end of the line since the receiver was turned up so loud. In the almost still night, the voice on the other end came out almost crystal clear.

"So let me get this straight, you're confused because you can't figure out your feelings for Danny now that his family is trying to push you into dating him?" Mrs. Monroe questioned, more as a way to reiterate what her daughter had basically told her than actually have her clarify, but Lindsay did it anyway with a small "Uh huh."

"Alright, and how has he been handling all of this?" she asked, still unsure of what to tell her daughter.

"He keeps telling everyone we're just friends, which makes me wonder if that's all I am to him, and he has me completely confused by his actions as of late. I don't know anymore, Mom! I can't tell if he just wants to be friends or if he wants more." The frustration was obvious in Lindsay's voice as it got higher and higher in pitch. She threw her hand up in the air, her shoulder shrugging. Danny wanted to run out there and ease her mind, tell her that he was interested in being more than friends, but he didn't want to make her angry for eavesdropping. So he stayed put and waited in silent agony until she was finished venting to her mother.

"Let me tell you what I'm thinking," Mrs. Monroe said before she launched herself into a well thought out response to her daughter's perplexing situation now that she had all the information she needed. "Based on what you've told me, it sounds like Danny has your best interests in mind when he tells his family that you two are just friends. Have you two ever talked about dating each other?"

Lindsay laughed in spite of herself. "No."

"Well all right then. Why would Danny say anything other than the truth? At this point, you guys are just friends. It'd be pretty foolish to just blurt out that he liked you or something else along those lines if you two had never even talked about it."

Lindsay nodded her head, unaware that Danny was mimicking the action inside. 'Thank you, Mrs. Monroe,' Danny silently praised the woman he had yet to meet. Already she was shaping up to be someone he could really get to know and like.

"That's true. I didn't think about that."

"So maybe he's trying not to let them interfere with the relationship he has with you right now. But I don't want you to make any judgments based on one day. You need to consider the whole time you've known him and whether or not outside of today at his parents' home has he acted like he's wanted to go out with you."

"Well, there was that one night we went to see Mac play some really good jazz music, he seemed so excited, you know? And the bug dinner, that was fun too. He reminded me of a little kid, eager to have me try all this food he'd brought. And, of course, that time he carried me across the rooftop for a theory I was testing. That had to be one of my absolute favorite moments!" Lindsay trailed off, her mind rushing her back to all the moments they had shared in the past year and a half. A smile turned up the edges of her lips as she leaned back against the vinyl siding, unable to stop thinking about all the things Danny had done for her. He might have started out as a thorn in her side, but he'd grown on her, as she had probably grown on him, and now it was almost impossible to stop the thoughts of what it would be like to call him her own.

Danny smiled too, thinking back to those moments with fondness. 'God, how I'd like to hold her again,' he thought to himself as he remembered the rooftop experiment. She had asked him to help her with something, never really fully explaining what the experiment entailed, but had promised him drinks afterwards. Little did he know it would involve holding her in his arms for a pretty good amount of time. It was a moment that remained forever etched in his mind: the feel of her body pressed up against his, the way she held onto him, the look in her eyes when they glanced at each other.

There was another silence, blessedly shorter than the last, before her mom answered. "Sweetie, I think the best advice I can give you right now, and I know it's going to sound absolutely cheesy, is to follow your heart. If your feelings for Danny are that strong, then his family shouldn't be the determining factor if you two become a couple or not. That's something for only the two of you to decide. Talk to him. Find out if he feels the same way about you. After that, it's all up to you."

"Thanks, Mom. You're right, it does sound absolutely cheesy." The two shared a laugh. Suddenly a loud ring cut across the telephone line.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I really need to get back into the kitchen now," she quickly knocked Lindsay out of her thoughts as well as Danny. In the background she could hear the old egg shaped timer her mother kept on the ancient kitchen stove ringing loudly.

"Yeah, I should get back inside. Danny's probably wondering what's taking so long," Lindsay replied, walking back to the bench and sitting down. She stretched her legs out in front of her before planting them back on the wooden porch. "Tell everyone I say hi, Merry Christmas and I miss them."

"Alright, sweetie, will do. Take care of yourself and behave!" Mrs. Monroe teased just as she was about to hang up.

"Hey, Mom," Lindsay quickly stopped her, deciding to ignore her last comment even though she knew it was only meant to ruffle her feathers.

"Yes, dear?" Mrs. Monroe replied, pausing before putting the phone down. Someone had already stopped the timer's incessant ringing, giving her one more moment to speak to her daughter.

"I'm so glad you called," Lindsay said with a smile her mom could hear. "Merry Christmas, and give everyone my love."

"I'm glad too, sweetheart. Merry Christmas, and give us a call later, okay?"

"Thanks for calling," Lindsay answered, her lips curling into another smile.

"You're welcome, honey," her mother said, also smiling. Her smile quickly turned into a frown when she heard someone cursing from the kitchen. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think the turkey's burning," she added.

"Bye, Mom."

"Bye, Lindsay."

And with that, they ended their conversation. Lindsay remained firmly planted on the bench, not really wanting to go inside even though she should. It was cold out there, but that didn't take her mind off everything she'd just come to realize. She really did like Danny, and now she had to find a way to tell him. But with his family swarming around them like vultures, she knew this wasn't place. It made her wonder if she'd ever find the right place or time to do it.

Letting several moments pass, Danny knew now was the time to go outside and talk to Lindsay. He'd waited long enough, his heart still pounding as if it were ready to explode out of his chest. He grabbed onto the doorknob, and after taking a deep breath, he pushed against the thick oak.

The front opened, startling Lindsay out of her thoughts. Her head shot up and she found Danny walking out, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. She couldn't help but smile back at him as he made his way towards her, rubbing his hands together for warmth. "Hey, Montana," he said as if he had no idea she'd been out here. "I was wondering where you got off to."

"My mom was on the phone," Lindsay finally admitted as she scooted over, giving him room to sit down beside her. "Sorry for leaving you to finish the table."

"Don't be, family's important. It's alright that you ditched me for your mom," Danny brushed it off as if it were nothing.

He continued to rub his hands together as Lindsay remembered she was still wearing his jacket. "Oh, my God, I took your coat! I'm so sorry!" she quickly apologized and made a move to take it off.

"Leave it on! Don't worry about me. I'm a guy. I'm supposed to be tough and macho," Danny replied, stopping her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, you wouldn't be very macho if you caught a cold," Lindsay retorted, giving him that trademark eye roll he loved to hate. "We should go back inside anyway. We still need to finish the table," she added, getting ready to stand up and leave.

"Don't worry about the table, I got Izzy to finish it for me," he answered, making Lindsay gaze at him with questioning eyes.

"Then why are you out here looking for me?" she asked, somewhat puzzled. Her chocolate eyes stared straight into sapphire pools, waiting for an answer before giving one of her own, "Is dinner ready?"

"No, not exactly…" Danny admitted. His gaze fell to his hands for a moment; an uneasy smile crossing his lips as he tried to figure out how to broach the subject they both seemed to have trouble with that day. He finally looked back up at her again, his sapphire eyes full of anxious anticipation. "Well, um… I just… I, uh… I wanted to… talk to you…for a minute…away from everyone else," Danny finally stammered out, his face reddening slightly as he once again looked down at his hands.

It was that same nervous gesture Lindsay had seen earlier that day when Uncle Carl had embarrassed him in front of her. She stared at him for several moments, wondering what was making Danny so tense about this talk he wanted to have with her. Lindsay knew it was important; it wasn't everyday that she saw Danny Messer, Mr. Macho Man himself, scared senseless of a little talk. "What's up, Santa?" she finally replied, hoping her stab at a little humor would ease his mind enough for him to say what he needed to say. Hey, he was still wearing that crazy hat! How could she not pick on him for it?

Danny looked up at her, his trademark half grin plastered on his lips. A less apprehensive look finally settled over his features, giving Lindsay the impression that it had worked. She smiled back at him and waited.

"I wanted to ask you something," His voice trailed off when they both heard the front door open, startling him into silence as he looked back to see Uncle Carl poking his head out.

"Hey, kids! Isobel wants to start singing Christmas carols in the living room. Why don't you come back inside now and join us?" he said, grinning widely when he realized Danny and Lindsay were out there sitting together on the bench. He knew he'd caught them at a bad time judging by the incredulous look on nephew's face.

Danny turned to Lindsay, his eyes full of rage and frustration, telling her that his uncle had just interrupted something important he was about to tell her. She pursed her lips in the same frustration as he forced his face to soften before turning back to Uncle Carl and replying, "We'll be there in a minute."

"Isobel's waiting for you," Uncle Carl added, refusing to leave them alone. "She told me to come get you. Besides, do you really want her to unleash her wrath on you for not coming in?"

Lindsay sighed in annoyance. Score another point against Uncle Carl and Izzy, she thought to herself. She realized that she needed to be careful and keep in mind that this was one day out of the year, and she couldn't judge whether or not to be with Danny based on today. Which was fortunate since their meddling was making her lean towards not going out with Danny.

"Alright, already, we're coming in," Danny grumbled as he turned to Lindsay once more before standing up. Taking her hand, he helped pull her up with him, but not before surreptitiously leaning in to her ear and whispering, "We'll talk later," as Uncle Carl continued to watch them like a hawk. Lindsay gazed into his sapphire eyes, the look telling him she understood and would wait until they found more time to themselves. She started to walk towards the door; Danny following closely behind as he silently cursed his uncle for the interruption.

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Sorry that took so long, but I hopefully made up for it in length and content. :) I'm gonna keep this short, cuz there's a LOT of shit I've gotta do tonight, and the #1 thing on my list happens to be sleep. I haven't slept in 3 days cuz of an infection, so hopefully tonight I'll finally get that rest I so desperately need. But the upside to that: my muse, Paris, has been on a writing rampage! I swear, she wrote half of the next chapter already, and is in the midst of writing a new story, which I'm using to unveil my new pen name, The Dirty Martini. That one will be strictly for M rated stories, cuz this pen name already has two strikes against it. Don't need to be kicked off permanently, ya know! Anyway... The link for it is in my profile, so if you wanna fave it or whatever in anticipation of the new story, which will be a one shot smut fic, please do. I might throw out a message about it using this pen name, kinda like a little teaser of the fic, but I'll make sure y'all know about it.

To The Lurkers: Thank you soooo much for reading my story! I really do appreciate it. I absolutely adore you guys for hitting up my story, and for that you deserve a huge thanks!

To my Betas: I seriously love you guys from the bottom of my heart! I don't think I've ever gotten so much help with a story in my entire life! I wanna send out another HUGE shout out to roswellwbfan, who has been a major force behind the editing of this story. She's an AMAZING person, so I suggest you check out her fics if you get a chance. :) Luv ya girl! And, my best bud in the entire world, prplerayne, who's been by my side through thick and thin, good and bad, and supported me even when I thought I was losing my mind. You are the most amazing person on the planet. And I know you've got a lot on your plate right now, which is why you've been doing spelling and grammar, but you are amazing, so don't forget that! Love Don't Take The Girl. One of my favorite stories EVER! Keep up the great work! And, last, but certainly not least, Leanne, who has been helping me with a lot of creative stuff, like coming up with ideas for this fic and others. Thank you for that so very much! I definitely enjoy those conversations a LOT! And I'm trying, very hard, to finish beta-ing your story, but it's been a very rough week, and I've been through a lot, so I hope you understand. Hopefully this weekend, when everything clears up, I'll finally be able to finish it. Again, sooo sorry I haven't gotten to it. I promise I'll have it soon. :)

And finally, FYI, that clothing line I was talking about last week... Sears picked it up and it's in production as we speak!! It's a line of baseball jerseys based on the old Latin Leagues, and it's called "VLLE." So if you live in Chicago, LA, or New York, you'll definitely be seeing it on shelves some time around mid March. :) And hopefully in a couple of months, it'll make its way to the rest of the Sears stores, so hopefully everyone will get a chance to check them out!

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I know I definitely enjoyed writing it! Thank you for your continuing support. I am truely grateful from the bottom of my heart!

Stay tuned, more story coming soon!!

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


	10. Chapter 10

Stepping back into the warmth of the house, Lindsay shed the thick coat she'd stolen from Danny, placing it in the closet beside the door and waiting for him to join her before heading into the festively decorated living room, with the Christmas tree placed in the middle of the large bay window and the cream colored leather couches and mahogany coffee table in a semi-circle around it. In the far corner beside the Christmas tree stood a 38 inch mahogany consolette piano with Izzy draped over the side while Matt sat in front of it, his fingers itching to strike the keys. She watched as Danny and Lindsay walked in, stepping beneath the threshold, which had been secretly hung with mistletoe. She and Matt had been called out on it earlier, and now it was her turn to pass the torch, even if it was her cousin.

"Stop right there!" Izzy practically hollered once they crossed the threshold, Danny first followed by Lindsay. They both stopped and glared at her, wondering what she wanted. "Hello! Mistletoe!" she finally explained, pointing up, an impish grin crossing her lips.

"Must you yell?" Matt quietly replied, rubbing his ears to emphasize his point. Izzy's voice could carry across a room like none other, which made sitting or standing beside her a hazard when she yelled.

"Ooh, baby, I'm sorry," she cooed, taking his face in her hands and leaning in to place soft kisses over his lips as an apology.

In the midst of the affectionate gesture, Danny and Lindsay stared at each other for a tense moment before looking up to see that Izzy had been telling the truth. Danny mentally kicked himself for forgetting that he'd seen the sprig of mistletoe just before going upstairs to find out if Lindsay was awake after his nap. But he remained cool and collected, giving her a soft smile before saying, "So, when'd you put up the mistletoe, Montana?"

"Shut up, Santa," Lindsay retorted as she playfully punched him in the arm. A grin came across her lips, the mood having lightened considerably with their lighthearted banter. They stood there for several long moments before she added, "Well, what are you waiting for? Kiss me already!" Lindsay closed her eyes and puckered her lips, waiting patiently as her heart began to hammer in her chest. Although she knew this was all part of Christmas tradition, there was still a piece of her that wished they were alone right now instead of in the middle of a room full of Danny's family. A light blush came across her cheeks, the warmth spreading down her neck and over her shoulders as she waited for what seemed like hours for him to get it over with.

"Uh, fine!" Danny grumbled, making it seem as if he really didn't want to although his mind was quickly flooded with what her lips would feel like pressed against his. Fighting the urge to bring his hand to her cheek and brush aside a few errant strands of her caramel colored hair, he finally leaned in and barely touched his lips to hers before pulling away. Having felt all eyes on them even though only one or two people were even gazing in their direction, Danny couldn't bring himself to letting their first kiss be such a public affair. No, that was something to be shared privately and between only the two of them after they had discussed their feelings for each other. Besides, he rationalized, that really wasn't even a kiss, it was just a peck on the lips; quick and emotionless, how friends were supposed to kiss.

When they pulled away from each other, there was a content look on Lindsay's face telling him that he'd done the right thing by giving her a chaste kiss instead of one that could potentially give his family the wrong idea. The pair moved away from the mistletoe towards one of the unoccupied couches as Izzy pulled away from Matt and realized she had missed the kiss. "Hey, no fair! I missed it!" she practically squeaked, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting.

Danny stopped in the middle of the room and glared at her, replying, "And you care because…?"

His eyes and his tone should have warned her to mind her own business, but Izzy being the nosy person she was, just couldn't stop herself from adding, "Because I'm your cousin and I called you out on it! Come on, everyone else saw!"

Quickly crossing the room with an obviously angry look on his face, Danny stopped when he towered before his younger cousin, his sapphire eyes on fire. Matt wasn't completely oblivious as to what would soon transpire between the pair and struck up a soft melody on the piano, letting them work out their problems without the rest of the family and Lindsay overhearing.

"What did I tell you about staying out of my love life?" Danny growled in a voice only loud enough for her to hear. He watched Izzy roll her eyes, which was when he grabbed her by the shoulders and added, "I'm serious, Isobel. Let… it… go." He made sure to emphasize his last sentence just in case she was still having trouble getting it through her thick skull.

Izzy stood stunned by her cousin's forward manner, but she should have seen it coming. Danny was just like the rest of the family, blunt and forward, and when she crossed the line yet again, he knew how to put her in her place. With her body standing rigid and her eyes the size of saucers, she had no choice but to listen to his words. "Oh… Okay… I'm… I'm sorry," Izzy apologized. "I'll let it go." Her voice had that touch of fear in it, letting Danny relax his hold on her shoulders then pull away from her completely. He was satisfied with her answer and glad that she was finally beginning to understand. He turned and walked away, sitting down beside Lindsay on one of the soft leather couches around the living room.

Izzy watched the pair exchange a questionable glance before deciding to drop the subject before ever mentioning it. A hand softly wrapped around her wrist, tugging gently until her eyes fell on the person doing it. "What?" she retorted as she glared down at her boyfriend. He had stopped play piano to listen in on the last bit of their conversation, Danny's vain attempt to get Izzy to listen sparking something deep inside him that begged to be explored now that he had a little more understanding of why Izzy had kept her distance from the family.

"Come here," Matt said as he pulled her down onto the small piano seat beside him. Izzy's head fell against his shoulder as she stared at the ivory keys. A deep sigh escaped her lips, prompting him to ask, "What's wrong, Iz?"

She turned her head and let her chin rest against his shoulder blade as her crystal blue eyes locked on to the hazel of his. Izzy sighed again and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Her head fell back into the crook of his neck as she finally replied, "I'm not sure if I can just let it go like Danny wants me to."

Matt sighed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and held her against the warmth of his body. His fingers ruffled through her dark hair when he said in his thick Australian accent, "Do you remember when we were first starting to go out? You used to talk about Danny all the time; about how cool he was or how much fun the two of you had growing up, and I used to wonder if I had something to worry about. Remember how hard you laughed when I asked you, 'Who's this Danny guy you keep talking about?'"

Izzy giggled in spite of the angst she was feeling. The sound of his voice with its thick Australian accent always made her smile and want to kiss him breathless. It was the first thing she'd noticed about him when they met. Accents had always been her weakness, and factoring in his good looks, his musical talent, and the fact that he treated her like a princess, she knew she'd found her prince. "Yeah, I do," she replied.

He nudged her chin with his shoulder until she looked up. "Remember what I asked you next?"

All traces of amusement left Izzy's face as she slowly nodded, "You asked me if he was my cousin, and not an ex, why wasn't I calling him to tell him about the great guy I'd met."

Matt smiled gently. "And what did you tell me, Iz?"

She lifted her head from his shoulder and sighed, letting one of her fingers absently stroke an ivory key. "I said that my family had always interfered with my love life and I didn't want any of them, especially Danny, ruining what I already knew was the best relationship I'd ever had," Izzy finally admitted, unable to meet his gaze. She knew what he was going to say next, and although she didn't like it, she realized it was true.

"So don't you think maybe Danny feels the same way?" Matt asked.

"I know, I know," Izzy sighed. Her head was beginning to hurt from having to bring this up again. She wanted to let it go, just as she'd agreed to earlier, but there was still a part of her that was having trouble doing so. Matt was right, though, and with another heavy sigh, she said, "I'm gonna try my hardest to let it go, so bear with me if I screw it up."

Smiling down at her, Matt replied, "'Try and fail, but don't fail to try.'"

"Smart ass," Izzy playfully retorted. "Quoting Stephen Kaggwa…"

"I believe the right term is 'wise ass,'" he corrected with an amused grin. For that he got a light punch to the stomach before Izzy stood up, her mood vastly improving after the playful exchange.

"I'll be right back," she said, making her way towards the couch where Danny sat with Lindsay.

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WOOHOO!!! A NEW CHAPTER!!! LoL! Sorry it's taken over a month to get this show on the road. My muse decided to switch gears on me and write some smut. That story's called "The Tension and the Spark" and I've listed it under my other pen name, The Dirty Martini, for those of you who haven't been able to check it out. I've got a link to it on my profile. I hope you all get a chance to, at least those of you who are old enough and mature enough to read that kind of story. (No offense to you youngsters.)

Anyway, update on the clothing line: Launch party in Chicago and Miami in either May or June. The line will be at 25 Sears stores in LA, NY, Chicago, Miami, Texas, and Puerto Rico for Father's Day. Yes, this is a HUGE deal for me, and as soon as I get more updates, I'll make sure to post them for you. :)

Review Replies:

Quintessence of Darkness: Hey! Thanks for checking out the rest of the story. I know I've only posted 2 chapters on DLC, but there will be more over there soon. I'm just looking to see if there's any interest. I'm hoping so. :) Thank you so much for the review! So very much appreciated!!

The Lurkers: Thank you guys too!! I'm so sorry to keep you waiting. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I hope that's true. Thank you so much for sticking with me thru thick and thin. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I hope to hear from some of you soon. :)

I hope this chapter really threw you off, but in a good way! LoL! Hehe, there's more DLiciousness to come, so stay tuned! More story coming soon! (Now that my muse has finally decided to cooperate!!)

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


	11. Chapter 11

Danny and Lindsay had remained silent, content with just sitting beside one another as the rest of the family talked and laughed around them. Their thoughts were no longer focused on their brief kiss. If anything, they had wandered as far away from it as possible, instead focusing on how long it had been since either of them had had any quiet time to themselves. The lab, although usually quiet, was filled with interruptions from their colleagues searching for evidence or results on the various cases that crossed their desks.

Lindsay's head had fallen against the soft back cushion of the couch as she closed her eyes, still tired from having spent most of the night worrying about getting home. Now that she'd talked to her mother and had been reassured her absence wasn't such a big deal, she finally let her mind rest. But that rest would be short lived when she felt the couch springs rise and settle as a new body sat down somewhere near her. Quickly opening her eyes and lifting her head, she looked to her left to find it was Izzy who had taken a seat beside Danny. It made Lindsay uncomfortable until she wrapped her arms around her cousin and kissed his cheek.

"I'm sorry," Izzy whispered. She looked as if she was ready to cry. Lindsay's face softened as she watched Danny tenderly wrap an arm around her and pull her into a tight hug.

"Promise me you'll let it go and stop bringing it up," he replied, his sapphire eyes locked on crystal.

Although Lindsay didn't know what "it" referred to, she could see that it was something very important to the two of them as Izzy nodded her acknowledgment. "I won't bring it up anymore," she said, using her fingers to cross her heart, although her smile almost betrayed her words, "but you gotta do me one favor." Danny gave her an incredulous look, but she continued to grin at him as she added, "I want you to sing the first Christmas carol with me. And I'm not talking the way it's supposed to be sung, but the way we used to sing it."

"Aw, come on, Izzy!" Danny groaned, knowing exactly what she meant. "That way is so ridiculous!"

"So? It's Christmas! What better reason do we have?" Izzy retorted. "C'mon! It'll be fun! Please?" she practically begged, her mouth pouting dramatically and her eyes turning into saucers as she gave him the saddest kicked puppy look she could possibly muster.

Danny tried to look away, but she already had him hook, line, and sinker. "Damn you, Izzy," he muttered. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Yay!" she squealed, clapping her hands together like a little girl. Izzy shot off the couch, grabbing Danny's hand and pulling him along with her until they were both standing beside the piano.

Danny couldn't help but smile at her. 'Just like old times,' he thought to himself. He had to admit he did miss this part of Christmas, no matter how embarrassing it was, especially now that Lindsay had a front row seat to the madness. A short glance towards the couch revealed that she sat upright, her arms crossed over her chest and a puzzled expression on her face. She'd heard their last exchange, making her all the more curious as to why he'd be so against singing Christmas carols with his cousin. After all, he'd been doing it in the lab the day before. What could be so embarrassing?

'Blackmail for the rest of my life,' Danny glumly thought. 'As if that shirt wasn't bad enough.'

"So, what do you wanna sing?" Izzy asked, knocking him out of his musings.

"You choose," Danny replied, still somewhat distracted by the fact that this was the worst kind of blackmail anyone could ever possibly have on him.

"Are you sure you want me to choose?" Izzy questioned again. The glint in her eye should have told him to change his mind, but still slightly dazed, he merely nodded. "Alright, you asked for it," she warned, her grin becoming mischievous. Izzy turned to her boyfriend and said, "'I choose 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.'"

Danny's ears immediately perked up when he heard the title of the song. His focus soon returned to what was going on in the present, and before he knew it, Izzy was giving him that devilish grin that signified she was about to make his life a living hell. "No, Izzy!" he began to complain.

"You told me to choose!" she protested, the grin never wavering from her lips.

"Anything but that, please!" Danny begged, turning on that kicked puppy look, but to no avail. From the couch he could hear Lindsay softly chuckling. He didn't even need to turn his head to know she was shaking hers.

Izzy was dead set on singing that song just the way they used to do it when they were younger. She wiggled her finger at him and replied, "Too late now, Cuz! It's been decided! You gotta sing it with me!"

'Shit,' Danny silently cursed when Matt started playing the notes on the piano. Well, the humiliation could only last for so long, he told himself just as Izzy was getting ready to launch them into the song.

"Have… yourself… a merry… little Christmas." Already the giggling had started in the living room when Izzy belted out the first line of the song in true William Shatner finesse. Danny chalked it up to her being of the nerd persuasion, having watched _Star Trek_ when she was younger then probably finding all the classic Shatner music parodies as she grew older. The first Christmas they had done this was back in 1991, after she had watched some TV special where she saw him sing "Rocketman," and it had gotten such a laugh out of everyone that they continued the tradition until the Christmas before Izzy left for college. Although she had been gifted with artistic abilities that included being able to sing like Christina Aguilera, she never dared to use them during Christmas. She explained it was the child in her wanting to be let out for a little while, and everyone praised her because so much joy and laughter came from it. Even Danny couldn't resist now that she'd already started the song.

"Let… your heart… be… light," he continued, grinning like a madman. More laughter erupted around the room now that he'd joined in. 'To hell with blackmail,' Danny thought. 'This is something I haven't done in five years and I miss it!'

"From now on… our troubles… will be… out of sight," Izzy added as the giggles continued to increase in volume. The whole family was getting a kick out of their musical shenanigans, including Matt, who could barely keep it together, hitting the wrong keys the further along the song progressed.

"Have yourself… a… merry… little Christmas," Danny tried not to laugh as he glanced over at his cousin who was taking this in total seriousness. Her face was as straight as he'd ever seen it, making him want to start laughing all the more. She even looked slightly annoyed that Matt was unable to play the song correctly.

"Make… the Yule-tied… gay," Izzy said, her voice still mimicking that of her favorite actor. Her face remained stone straight, determined to pull this off just like William Shatner. This was the only Christmas tradition she ever took this seriously, which was a total kick for the family because it was a widely known fact that Isobel Messer couldn't stay somber for longer than a few minutes. She was the jokester in the family, and for her to keep a straight face for this long was a miracle.

"From… now on… our… troubles… will be… out of sight," Danny could barely keep the laughter out of his voice as tears started to drip from his eyes. It was going to be damn near impossible to keep a straight face now that he was shaking from having to hold it in. Glancing at Lindsay, he could see that she was having trouble trying to hide her own amusement at what was going on. Her face had turned a bright shade of red as her hand covered her mouth, stopping the inevitable laughter from erupting.

"Here we are… as in… olden days," Danny and Izzy sang together. "Happy… golden days… of yore… Faithful friends… who are… dear… to us… gather… near… to us… once more." By now the entire room was laughing so hard that tissue needed to be passed around to dry eyes from crying. Even Lindsay had tears streaming down her face as she watched her colleague turn from Mr. Macho Man into William Shatner at the drop of a hat. She couldn't believe this was something Danny did for fun and vowed that one day she'd get him drunk enough to do it in front of everyone at the lab, because, frankly, this was better seen firsthand than explained. Talking about it couldn't capture the true hilarity.

Then she remembered she had her phone on her. Lindsay quickly whipped it out and caught Danny's last few lines before he collapsed against the piano with laughter. Those few seconds of video made everything that had happened that day worth while. She smiled at the thought, putting away the phone before he even noticed she had taken it out.

"Through the years… we all… will be… together," Izzy continued. Danny couldn't take anymore and found himself leaning against the piano trying to catch his breath as he watched his ever serious cousin finish the song by herself. "If… the… Fates… allow... Hang… a shining star… upon… the highest… bough… And have… yourself… a merry… little… Christmas… now!" The room exploded with cheers and clapping as Izzy bowed to her audience, the smile returning to her pretty face.

Danny pulled her in for a tight hug, and, still chuckling, said, "That was too much fun!"

"I know!" Izzy replied, sitting down on the piano stool beside Matt once he let her go and started laughing as her boyfriend wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her in for a tight embrace. "Thank you for singing with me. I've really missed this."

"Hey, it was no problem, Cuz," Danny responded by ruffling his fingers through her hair before heading back to the couch and sitting down beside Lindsay.

"I think you should try out for American Idol next time around," she said with a straight face before bursting out into laughter as she added, "You'd probably make it on the best of the worst! You could be the next William Hung!" Lindsay couldn't contain herself as she giggled wildly at the image that crossed her mind of Danny singing "She Bangs" like William Shatner.

"Are you done?" he retorted, not finding it funny at all as he glared at her, clearly annoyed by her comments. Danny didn't think he was that bad. He might not have been musically gifted like his cousin, but he could still hold a tune, somewhat.

"Stella won't believe me when I tell her about this," Lindsay replied, slowly calming down even though she'd giggle every once in a while. Her face remained red as she tried to wipe away the tears that were still clinging to her long lashes with the index finger of her right hand.

"Nobody will," Danny smugly answered as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her with a glint in his sapphire eyes. He thought he had Lindsay cornered, but the smile on her face should have told him otherwise.

"Yeah, you're right; they would all need to see proof," she reasoned, putting her hand beneath her chin and staring right back at him with those mischievous chocolate brown eyes. "Good thing I've got some." A Cheshire grin crossed her lips as she slid her hand into her pocket to grab her phone, which she wiggled in front of his face, daring him to take it from her.

Danny stared at her and the phone in silent shock and disbelief. "No, you didn't!" he practically yelled before trying to snatch it away from her, but Lindsay was too quick for him, and pulled the phone out of his reach by throwing herself back against the next couch cushion. It was an invitation for him to pounce on her and wrestle her for it, but Danny stayed put. He knew what that would look like. Instead he chose to stare her down.

"Yes I did!" Lindsay taunted, her laughter beginning again as she slid the phone into her back pocket for safe keeping. She gazed at him, her eyes gleaming in the light of the Christmas tree. Her smile continued to shine just as bright, almost making his heart melt as a short silence passed between them, but that didn't deter Danny from attacking her in another way.

"Don't even think about it, Montana," he sternly warned as his eyes narrowed on the petite woman. He leaned towards her and barely whispered, "I bet Stella and Flack would have a field day if they ever found out the Spice Girls were your favorite band. And if you're wondering where I'll get the proof, I've got my resources."

"You play dirty," Lindsay pouted as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Danny raised his eyebrows and gave her a wicked grin. Those moments at the lab were slowly beginning to creep in. The tension was back, and there was nothing that could stop the exchange of words about to take place. "Oh, Montana, you haven't _seen_ me play dirty," he broke off and crooked his finger at her and she reluctantly leaned forward, hyperaware of the way her pulse raced at the smile he was still shooting her, but not forgetting that he was most likely after the phone. As she tilted her head down, he whispered, "But maybe if you're a good girl, Santa will play dirty with you sometime."

Lindsay bit her lip, trying not to allow her whole face to flush and then crooked her own finger at Danny, who seemed surprised and pleased as he leaned a little closer to her. She captured his chin in her small hand and held his face as they looked each other dead in the eye. "What about playing doctor? Does Santa do that?" she replied with a wicked grin of her own. Lindsay had been surprised by her forwardness, especially with them being in a room full of Danny's relatives, including Izzy and Uncle Carl, but there was just something about the way he spoke to her and looked at her that made her want to completely throw aside modesty and replace it with the passion she suddenly felt. There was no longer any doubt in her mind that he had feelings for her, but she'd wait for him to make the first move. After all, this was his domain, not hers.

Seeing the twinkle in her eye, Danny suddenly felt the urge to pull her upstairs where they could have a little more privacy and maybe do a little more than just talk about their feelings for each other. Lindsay was definitely interested, especially now after her suggestive words finally began to sink in, making him all the more confident that if they found some time away from the family, they might be able to work something out between each other. He gave in to his need for physical contact and brushed a few strands of her caramel colored hair away from her face. Every molecule in his body was telling him to kiss her, and he would have had he not heard someone clear his voice to get the attention of the room. Reluctantly, Danny and Lindsay sat up and looked in the direction of the piano.

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I hope that satisfied your need for more DLiciousness in this story! Altho it was quite suggestive of where this _might _be heading, hehe. I haven't decided yet, but you know the end is definitely going to be good, no matter where the muses take me. I'm gonna keep this short today cuz I'm beyond exhausted even tho it's only the beginning of the afternoon. (I'm in desperate need of some Red Bull!)

Review Responses:

The Lurkers: Thank you so much for your continued support! I appreciate it so very much! I can't tell you how happy I am every time I check my stats. This is definitely the most popular story I've ever written, and it's all thanks to you guys! You ROCK! I hope someday I'll hear from you, but no pressure. :)

Well, I hope you guys have a great weekend! Stay tuned, more story coming soon!

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


	12. Chapter 12

Matt and Izzy had remained seated on the piano chair with his arm wrapped around her shoulders. He softly kissed her forehead as he whispered, "I love you."

"I love you, too," Izzy replied, gazing up at him with a content smile on her face. She placed a soft kiss on his lips before he shifted and broke away from her.

"I have something I want to give you," Matt said as he walked out of the room, leaving Izzy to wonder what he was doing. They'd exchanged gifts the night before so they wouldn't have to lug around thousands of dollars worth of stereo equipment and jewelry. But the mention of another gift had piqued her interest. Izzy couldn't help but wonder what her boyfriend had up his sleeve.

Taking a glance around the room as she waited, she found Danny and Lindsay in quite the compromising position, and was about to head over there to see why he was leaning over her with that lusty expression on his face when Matt returned with his guitar slung over his shoulder strumming a few chords to make sure it was tuned correctly before he took her hand and had her sit down on the floor between the piano and the Christmas tree. Clearing his throat, he got the rest of the room's attention. When they were all looking in his direction, he gazed at Izzy, his hazel eyes going soft with emotion as he said, "This was a song I wrote for you the other day just to show you how much I loved you." He then reached up and stroked her face as she blushed in the glow of the Christmas tree lights.

Izzy had always been a big fan of romantic gestures, but this one was a little more public than she would have liked. Yet the smile remained on her face because she knew Matt also felt uncomfortable based on the rocky introduction with Danny, who was looking down at his feet, a bit unhappy with the turn of events. Izzy sighed inwardly. She was beginning to realize that maybe keeping him in the dark for so long had been a bad idea. He'd never been able to see just how wonderful of a person Matt really was or just how much they loved each other. She was also beginning to realize that he'd been right about staying out of each other's love lives. Danny might not have liked Matt, but he sure didn't get in her business about it, like she was doing to him and Lindsay. The guilt finally settled in as she glanced at her cousin, her smile wavering as her eyes filled with regret she hoped he'd be able to see.

Danny caught the heartbreaking glance Izzy gave him and immediately his face softened. It was difficult having to sit there and watch someone he'd barely had a chance to get to know express how much he loved his cousin. He felt awkward watching what should have been a sweet and tender moment between the couple. To Danny, it was strange and uncomfortable. He didn't know Matt, didn't know if this love he felt for Izzy was real, didn't know if he was good enough for his cousin, didn't know if he was really the right guy for her.

How had he succeeded where so many others had failed? With so many uncertainties and so many unanswered questions about the man that was getting ready to bare his soul in front of their family, Danny felt the need to get up and walk out before he had to see something he knew would continue to make him feel uncomfortable. But with his entire family having crowded the room, it would clearly be a show of disrespect if he did, so he sat there, his arms crossed over his chest, his body rigid and stoic.

Izzy turned away and focused her attention back on her boyfriend, who had started to strum a few gentle chords of the song. It warmed her heart watching him play, and she quickly forgot about Danny and his issues with the relationship as Matt dove right into the lyrics, "I'm gonna be here for you baby / I'll be a man of my word / Speak the language in a voice that you have never heard / I wanna sleep with you forever / And I wanna die in your arms / In a cabin by a meadow where the wild bees swarm / And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you / And I'll earn your trust making memories of us."

Izzy was beaming. Her eyes shined like diamonds as a few tears began to form at the very edges and threatened to spill down her soft, creamy white cheeks. She could barely contain her joy as she covered her mouth with her hands and continued to listen to his heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics.

"I wanna honor your mother / I wanna learn from your pa / I wanna steal your attention like a bad outlaw / I wanna stand out in a crowd for you / A man among men / I wanna make your world better than it's ever been / And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you / And I'll earn your trust making memories of us."

The urge to cry became unbearable as Izzy heard those next few lines. Her tears finally began to fall as she reached over and placed her hand on Matt's cheek, wiping the tears that were rolling down his cheeks as well. Her heart was about to explode with the amount of love she felt for this man. There was nothing in the world that could make this moment more perfect. Both couldn't be happier, but there was still so much more to come.

"We'll follow the rainbow / Wherever the four winds blow / And there'll be a new day / Comin' your way / I'm gonna be here for you from now on / This you know somehow / You've been stretched to the limits but it's alright now / And I'm gonna make you a promise / If there's life after this / I'm gonna be there to meet you with a warm, wet kiss / And I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you / And I'll earn your trust making memories of us / I'm gonna love you like nobody loves you / And I'll win your trust making memories of us."

Izzy was bawling by the time Matt finished his song, the tears having streamed down her face messing up her makeup yet again as she waited for him to put down his guitar before she threw herself into his open arms, her heart beating so fast she thought it would burst through her chest. She pressed a firm kiss against his waiting lips to show just how much she had appreciated the gesture, which he returned by running his fingers through her hair and along her face, wiping away her tears. "Oh, Matt, I love you so much," she softly cried while her arms circled his neck.

Matt pushed her back slightly and replied, "I'm not done yet." His right hand shook as he reached into his pocket and fumbled with something in it. He finally managed to pull out a black velvet box which Izzy eyed with shock and surprise, her moth falling open at the sudden realization of what he was about to do.

"Oh, my God," she whispered over and over again as he continued to fumble with the box, both his hands now shaking from a combination of nerves and the fact that the whole family was watching with bated breath, waiting for him to pop the question. Matt took a deep, cleansing breath before slowly opening the lid to reveal the stunning two karat marquis cut diamond set in a simple 24 karat white gold band. Izzy gazed up at him, her eyes wet with more tears, her voice lost amid soft sobs.

"Isobel Messer, will you marry me?" Matt whispered, feeling that a speech didn't need to follow a song that had pretty much already conveyed his message. He pulled the ring out of the box and took her trembling hand, waiting for her answer before he slipped it onto her finger.

Izzy swallowed back her shock and awe at the ring as her free hand fell against her chest, checking to make sure her heart was still beating while she took her time processing everything that was going on around her. They had talked about marriage a few times during the course of their relationship, one of them being recently, as in the last couple of weeks. She had no idea it would lead Matt to take that next step she'd been waiting to take ever since they realized they loved each other almost two years earlier. Her heart began to race again as she finally cried, "Yes! Yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes!" The tears returned to her eyes as he placed the ring on her finger and she immediately pulled him in for a deep, passionate kiss as the rest of the family cheered them on.

As the rest of the family stood up to congratulate the newly engaged couple, Danny remained seated, unable to join in. His eyes had narrowed on the couple as he quietly moped, the feelings hitting him full force. Everything was happening so fast. It seemed as if he'd just been hit by a ton of bricks. Danny felt the whole world spinning around him until he couldn't take it anymore and closed his eyes. The headache that followed would linger for the rest of the evening and more than likely through the night. He hadn't realized just how much it would affect him until he felt Lindsay touch his arm and ask, "Are you okay?"

Danny glanced down at her to find the concern present on her pretty face. He forced himself to take a deep breath before replying, "I'm fine," although his tone said otherwise. There was anger present in his voice; anger that he hadn't been informed about this in advance so he could brace himself; anger that he only knew a few scant details about the man that would be marrying his little cousin; anger that his own cousin would keep this a secret for so long without telling him. He desperately wanted to go back in time and fix this before it got to be so bad, but he couldn't, and now he was stuck trying to move on and get to a place where he was happy with the relationships he had.

"You're not fine; you're sad," Lindsay observed as she gazed at him with tender chocolate brown eyes. She understood where his feelings of resentment came from all too well, but she knew better than to try and make him feel better. This was quite a complicated issue, and the last thing she wanted to do was simplify it. "Give him a chance, Danny. Make the effort to talk to him during dinner and see if Izzy's made the right decision," she added, attempting to be the voice of reason.

Danny sighed deeply as he let his head drop into his hands. For a moment, Lindsay thought he'd brush her off, but he looked up at her and said, "You're right. I'll talk to him during dinner." It was nice having a friend around when it felt like the world was falling apart, and he was glad that friend was Lindsay. She smiled back at him warmly, glad that her words gave him a little comfort.

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Am I right about the feeling I'm getting right now... That y'all are gonna kill me if I post one more Izzy centric chapter? Damn... As if my writing slump wasn't that bad already. (gives weary frown) Yeah, I've been slightly depressed as of late, so it's been hard cranking out chapters. I'm hope that after June rolls out, my life gets a little less complicated. I'm in the process of looking for a job, losing weight for my cousin's upcoming wedding (haha! Yes, I do realize the irony of this situation. BTW, I'm a bridesmaid, and I desperately need to lose this damn weight in order to fit into the dress), trying to find alternate ways to make some spare cash so I can pay my bills, and figuring out when my head's gonna stop pounding... As if that wasn't bad enough, I've got 4 birthdays I need to worry about in the coming week... Arg... My brain's ready to give out. If anyone's got suggestions on how to lessen my burden, please, PM me, email me, IM me, WHATEVER! I'm open to suggestions at the moment!

To the Lurkers: I wanna thank you guys, as always. You're keeping the story alive with all your hits, so I'm grateful that even if you're not reviewing, you're reading. Thank you so much!

To my betas: You guys are awesome too! Especially roswellwbfan and prplerayne. Thanks for putting up with me and my indecisiveness. And my ranting... And raving... And whatever else I've put you through. I know I can be a pain in the ass, but I know you guys still love me. :)

Better get a move on. Hopefully some time in the following weeks Paris will resurface with some ideas about this story. If she doesn't... We won't talk about that.

Stay tuned, more story coming soon (hopefully!!!!)

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


	13. Chapter 13

AN: I forgot to include the name of the song I used in the last chapter! Oops! Yeah, that should tell you how stressed I've been and still am. It's "Making Memories Of Us" by Keith Urban. I love country, and I love Keith Urban, and that song was just so perfect. Sweet, eh? Anyway, onto the newest addition!! Woohoo!!

* * *

"Dinner's ready!" Mama Messer shouted from the doorway. She'd been able to take in the heartwarming scene after finishing Christmas dinner in the kitchen only ten minutes earlier, having caught Danny and Izzy's performance as well. She was glad to see the two of them were finally getting along after their little spat in the dining room. But glancing at her son right now as he sat solemnly beside his coworker, she knew he hadn't taken well to the news of his baby "sister" getting married. Hopefully dinner would provide some solace for him and a chance to get his mind off the upcoming nuptials. 

The entire Messer clan slowly made its way into the dining room, grabbing the usual seats around the table and making casual banter until everyone was seated. Danny's father, Uncle Carl, and Mama Messer all sat at the head of the table, and around them were the rest of the aunts and uncles followed by the married children. Danny and Lindsay were the last two to enter the expansive room with the exception of Izzy, who had been pulled aside to help her aunt carry out the last of the food dishes. With everyone else paired off and already sitting together, the only seats left were two towards the center of the table in front of the roast ham.

Danny slowly made his way past the kids sitting at the end of the table, messing up already wild hair as he said hi to each of his nieces and nephews, and took the seat beside Tony. Lindsay followed him, but before she even had a chance to pull out her chair, Danny had already pulled it out for her and waited until she sat down before he took his seat beside her.

"Thank you," Lindsay said as she looked up at him with a warm smile gracing her lips.

Danny glanced in her direction, the warmth of her smile melting his cold heart until he too was grinning back at her. "You're welcome," he replied just as Izzy entered the room with the last bowl of pasta and set it on the table in front of them before taking her seat across from Danny and beside Matt.

"Now that everyone's here, could you all please join hands for the prayer?" Danny's father said as he took the hand of his wife and his brother, Carl, and bowed his head. Everyone else around the table followed suit, including Danny and Lindsay. Although both of them were a little on edge, the touch of the other's hand seemed to soothe their minds as Danny's father continued with the prayer. "Heavenly Father, we thank you for the many ways you have blessed us on this day. We are grateful for each of those who are gathered around this table. We ask you to bless us and our food and to bless those we love who are not with us today. We ask you to bless my son Louie and pray that some day soon he will rejoin us at this table again. We ask you to bless Carl's wife, Maria, and pray that she is looking down on us with you. In our gratitude and love, we remember your humble birth into our lives and pray for those who are without enough to eat. We remember the stable in which you were born and pray for those who have no place to live. We remember your challenging message of caring and giving and we pray for peace in families and nations throughout the world. We bless you and give you thanks in your Spirit who brings our hearts to life this Christmas Day and forever. Amen."

Danny had to swallow the lump in his throat when his father mentioned his brother in prayer. "Amen," he barely managed to whisper as he let go of Lindsay's and Tony's hands. He needed to take his mind off it making him the first to say, "Let's eat!"

But Lindsay managed to catch the painful expression that crossed his face as he held his head down for a moment longer than everyone else. When their hands slipped out of each other's grasp and fell into their laps, Lindsay reached beneath the table and placed her hand over his, giving it a gentle squeeze that earned her a quick glance. She smiled at Danny again although this time his face remained solemn. It was hard to imagine what he was going through at the moment, but she knew it was enough to keep him from being the usually happy and bright person he was.

The banter around the table slowly began to pick up as the feeding frenzy Danny had initiated started to die down. With food overflowing their plates, the Messer family was now focused on the newly engaged couple at the center of the table. Questions flew about when the wedding would take place, where it would be held, how many people they were planning on inviting, and so on and so forth. Danny remained silent through the entire conversation, picking through his dinner as Lindsay looked on, her heart breaking from the deep rift the proposal had created between him and his cousin. She might not have liked Izzy all that much, but knowing how much Danny loved her, it pained her to see them drift apart even more so than before.

Gently nudging him with her elbow until he turned to stare at her with empty sapphire eyes, Lindsay whispered, "Talk to him." The wedding plans had subsided for a moment, allowing the family to talk about other topics such as the crazy weather they'd been having in New York these past few days. Matt and Izzy were quietly sitting side by side eating their dinner, content with each other and their surroundings. Danny continued to stare at Lindsay, and she added in a very challenging tone, "What the hell are you waiting for, Messer? You chicken?" She was slowly beginning to figure out how his mind worked, and it seemed that intimidation was the best way to pick him up after a slump.

"I'm a lot of things, but chicken's not one of them," Danny quietly retorted, putting his fork down and glaring at his colleague as he crossed his arms over his chest and sat upright. The nerve she had…

"Chicken! Bock-bock!" Lindsay continued to tease him, doing her best poultry impression. Her last squawk was a bit louder than she intended and the nearby kids began to giggle. She nearly burst out laughing when Danny gave her that incredulous look and quickly turned in the direction of his cousin and her now fiancé.

Although Danny felt slightly shunned by his family, he was determined not to stay that way, especially with Lindsay's audacity to call him a chicken for being unable to talk to Matt. He routinely talked to murder suspects younger than this kid, so it should have been easy, right? Wrong! Matt wasn't a suspect in a murder investigation, he was his little cousin's fiancé! In order to get this right, Danny knew he had to tread softly, no matter how badly he wanted to grill the kid. With everything already said and done, there was no room for error. As much as he hated the fact that he wasn't consulted about any of this, he didn't want to drive his relationship with Izzy further into the ground.

"So, Matt, how did you two meet?" Danny finally asked, deciding to jump right in. Both Matt's and Izzy's heads shot up in his direction, the look of utter bewilderment present on their faces. Izzy was about to speak up when Danny pointed at her and added, "I've heard your side of the story. I wanna hear his now." Her jaw snapped shut immediately. She thought she knew where this was headed, but had no way of stopping it now that Danny made it really clear she wasn't to interrupt his interrogation of her fiancé.

With a quick glance at Izzy and a gentle nod of his head, the nearly panicked Matt calmed down but was still shaky as he replied, "Well, um… I… I first met Iz during a chemistry course we took together during our second semester of sophomore year at Columbia. I believe it was called Crime Lab Chemistry. We ended up being lab partners and we got to talking about the reasons why we took the course. I was initially taking it because I needed to finish my science credits while Iz told me she was taking it because, and I quote, 'To understand what my cousin does for a living.' Of course I was intrigued and we continued talking about all sorts of things ranging from our respective majors, music and design, to work. She was the one who got me the job at Starbucks to help me pay my tuition, so of course I'm forever grateful for that, but it also gave us a chance to get to know each other even more."

Izzy was beaming as she listened to her boyfriend talk about how they met. She hadn't gone into detail about this part of their relationship with Danny and was grateful that Matt had. He was starting to show the side she really loved about him; his penchant for storytelling. Izzy told him a countless number of times that if his music career didn't take off, he'd easily be able to pick up writing since he was so great with words. A quick glance at Danny showed her that he was slowly beginning to like her fiancé. His arms were still crossed over his chest but he had leaned back in his chair and was contently listening to Matt as he told their story. A smile was creeping onto her lips as she sat back as well and continued to listen.

"Right before I met Iz, I'd been in this two-year long relationship with a girl I'd known since high school. We'd been best friends since we were in grade school and decided to go to the same college because we shared a love for the arts. Well, come sophomore year, we realized we were on two different paths. She didn't understand why I was spending so much time at bars and clubs trying to get my music heard, and I didn't understand why she was always going off with her friends to Manhattan to see what the latest styles were in person. (She was a fashion design major, by the way.) So, needless to say, we began to fight…a lot. I wish I could say we just drifted apart but the truth is we were both feeling so upset that we really took it out on each other and created a rift that could never heal. She moved out the week before second semester started, and I was left to pick up the pieces. After that I swore off women. I wanted nothing to do with them, until I met Iz." Matt paused for a moment to glance over at his fiancé. The warmth of the smile he gave her seemed to melt the hearts of everyone that happened to be listening in on the conversation.

Danny was starting to understand where Matt came from and how he had fallen in love with his baby cousin. The story was heartwarming so far, and he couldn't help but become completely immersed in Matt's singsong voice as it expertly wove the tale of his and Izzy's relationship. The kid was growing on him, and his instincts told him Matt was as genuine as anyone could get. Danny hated to admit it, but maybe, just maybe, Izzy had made the right choice with this guy. There was a sincerity in his voice that could only come from a deep love, something Danny desperately wanted to feel, even if it was for a fleeting moment. Matt's voice pulled him out of his thoughts before they went any further.

"Isobel was so unlike every other girl that I'd ever met. There was something about her that caught my eye the first time we talked and kept me coming back for more. She was smart and witty, sarcastic and funny. Her beauty came straight from her soul," Matt stopped when Izzy whacked him across the arm.

"You're so fulla shit, you know that?" the sarcasm dripped from her voice as she rolled her eyes at him, making everyone laugh. "But I still love you," Izzy added, leaning in for a quick, soft kiss before she let him return to his story.

"I love you too," Matt replied, his focus lingering on her for a moment before he turned back to Danny and Lindsay to finish the rest of the tale. "Anyway," he continued, "like I said before, Iz hired me to work at Starbucks so I could pay my tuition over the summer when I couldn't get a gig playing at some of the jazz clubs around the city."

"Wait, you're a jazz musician?" Danny interrupted, his interest obviously piqued. Lindsay couldn't help the smile that quickly materialized on her lips as she glanced in his direction.

"Actually, I'll play anything, but jazz is my favorite," Matt proudly answered.

Danny gave Lindsay a quick nudge and said, "Remember Cozy's?"

"How could I forget?" she retorted, albeit playfully. "You so don't know Mac like you think you do."

"That's crap. I know him better than you do," Danny shot back.

"Riiiight, then how come you didn't know he was into jazz? You've worked for him how long? Five years? I worked for him maybe six months and I managed to figure it out…" Lindsay kept rubbing it in, her smile growing mischievous when Danny started to turn red with annoyance and embarrassment.

Izzy watched the banter between the two and couldn't help herself. "So what's Cozy's? Did you guys go there on a date?"

Danny's eyes flashed red as he whipped around to stare her down. He was about to let Izzy have it when, to the surprise of them all, Matt jumped in. "Mac? That's your boss, right? Is he a jazz fan?"

Lindsay took the opportunity to become more engaged in the conversation, appreciating the gesture Matt was making. She herself was annoyed with Izzy's seeming lack of control but the fact that Matt recognized it and tried to reign her in meant a lot so she nodded at him and gave him a small smile to show that she understood and appreciated what Matt was doing.

"Actually he's a jazz musician. He plays bass in a band that we all go check out after work when we can," Lindsay stated, thankful that Danny seemed surprised enough by Matt's interference to keep quiet. "Although he doesn't sing like you do, Matt. At least as far as I know," she turned to Danny with an impish smile. "Can you imagine Mac singing?" she asked before she started to chuckle.

Danny finally focused his attention on Lindsay, having been biding his time until there was a lull in the conversation so he could ask Izzy to step outside and talk. But as Lindsay began to speak he found himself listening to what she was saying almost against his will and his ire subsided until he was able to laugh with her when she directed her question to him.

"Yeah, that would be a trip!" he agreed, chuckling.

"You know if anyone has that kind of intel, it would be Stella," Lindsay told him. "We should definitely ask her if she has the goods on it."

Danny nodded and turned back to Matt, resolutely ignoring Izzy for the time being for fear that he would become upset all over again and maybe even lash out at her. Lindsay was right, he needed to give Matt a fair break and he couldn't do that if he was upset with his cousin.

"So, Matt, is your family from Chicago?" Danny asked, steering the conversation away from music. He found comfort in asking the obvious question, his mind able to focus on other things while his anger at Izzy's failure to keep her mouth shut dissipated.

"No, actually, my brother, Zach, and I came to the states when he was eighteen and I was eight. Our parents died so our aunt and uncle, who'd moved here a while back ago, took us in." Matt looked almost solemn at the mention of his parents, something Danny immediately picked up on and was about to ask what had happened when the younger man added, "We've become quite Americanized, the only thing left of our Australian heritage being the accent, and even that…" Matt quickly changed gears and began to speak perfect English without his Aussie drawl, "can easily be dropped." A wicked grin crossed his lips as Izzy punched him in the arm again. "But it drives the ladies wild," his Aussie accent returned as he gave Danny a knowing wink, who grinned back at him in understanding.

"Be glad I didn't meet Steve Irwin first," Izzy chuckled.

"Now he was someone to be admired. The man had balls of steel. God rest his soul. I could never do what he did, wrestling crocs and the like. Crazy bastard," Matt replied. "But you might catch me uttering the occasional "Crikey' or 'Mate.'" A chorus of laughter erupted from around the table. "Like 'Crikey! What's that?!' Or 'Hello, mate, care for a vegemite sandwich?'" Even Matt had to laugh at himself for what he was saying. It seemed to come out whenever he found himself in an awkward situation.

"I like this guy!" Danny exclaimed when the rest of the table had finally calmed down enough to speak again.

"What does your bother do, Matt?" Lindsay jumped in again, asking her own questions now. She felt a little more at ease now that the interest had shifted from her to the other newcomer.

"My brother is a cop with the CPD, which is why I have great respect for what you and Danny do," Matt answered proudly. "It's another reason I felt a real connection with Iz. When she made that comment about wanting to understand what Danny did for a living, I thought about my own motives for taking the forensics class, and I realized I wanted to know what my own brother's line of work entailed. As fascinating as forensics is, I've never had the stomach for it. Iz can attest to that. My brother invited us on a tour of the crime lab in Chicago as part of our final project, and as soon as he showed us photos of a dead body from a closed case, I practically threw up. Iz, though, it didn't even faze her! I'm standing there, turning green, and she's absolutely enthralled with the photos."

Izzy sat laughing beside him, "Yeah, I remember that day! I had to rush you to the bathroom before you upchucked on the floor! And the photos weren't _that_ gruesome. It was just a gunshot wound to the head. There wasn't that much blood."

"This, coming from a woman who's afraid of spiders," Matt shot back, giving her an incredulous look before rolling his eyes in that same dramatic way that she did to him quite often.

"You think spiders are bad?" Danny asked, leaning forward in his chair as if to tell the young man a secret. "Try getting her to bait her own fishing hook with a worm."

A devious smile crept onto Matt's lips as he replied, "Ever accidentally throw a worm at her?"

Danny's eyes went wide with the implications. "When?!" He had to ask. The image in his mind was probably farther from the truth than what his future cousin-in-law would tell him. Still, it was something that needed to be explained.

"Last summer on the lake," Matt answered almost giddy. He leaned back in his chair, his comfort level with Izzy's cousin finally growing. It was a relief considering what had happened earlier that afternoon when they first met. But time had a way of ironing things out. "She got nostalgic and wanted to go fishing, so we went out on the lake on my friend's boat. Well, the waters were choppy that day, so as I was trying to bait my hook, the worm 'accidentally' flew out of my hand and into her hair when a wave hit the starboard side of the boat."

"I hope you weren't standing next to her." Danny laughed, easily seeing the image of Izzy screaming at the top of her lungs as she tried clawing the worm out of her hair. His hands had dropped to the table as he waited for Matt's reply. The kid was definitely proving himself to be a perfect match for the Messer family. Izzy had chosen well.

"I was. Needless to say, my ears were ringing for the next couple of days. Wasn't as bad as the time I took her to a Yankees/White Sox game and she thought Derek Jeter winked at her. That time she screamed in my ear _and_ nearly pulled my left arm out of its socket," Matt chuckled.

"Ouch," Danny sympathized with a slight cringe. "I know all about Izzy and her thing for Jeter. She's liked him ever since he started playing for the Yankees."

"I'd take Johnny Damon over Derek Jeter any day," Lindsay piped in almost under her breath. It was a stab at the woman that had been a thorn in her side all day and a bit of a jab at Danny as well, just for fun. Although he knew she was only dissing the Yankees because of Izzy, the look of shock and annoyance he gave her made her smile. She reached over, patted his right cheek with her hand, and added, "I follow football, not baseball." Danny's smile slowly grew into a grin as he remembered the comment she'd made to him earlier that year when they hand been working on the Tyrell Mann case. The conversation played back in both their minds.

_Danny had walked into the posh hotel room, still unable to believe he'd be investigating the death of an all star football player, and not expecting Lindsay to even know much about him aside from the fact he played football, but after she'd sprouted a slew of trivia about the man, he had to do a double take. _

_"Don't tell me you know a little something about football, please," Danny said as he stared down at the woman kneeling beside the dead body as if she'd grown a second head. _

_Lindsay glanced up at him, a grin playing on her lips when she saw the shock and disbelief written all over his face. "Is that so hard to believe?" she asked. _

_"No, it's just dangerous. I might ask you to marry me." Danny's response bordered on shocking as well, but after a momentary lapse of memory, Lindsay grinned at him. _

Letting her hand linger for longer than it should have, Lindsay could hear Matt chuckling. A quick glance in his direction and she could see that not only was he laughing, but Izzy had taken a sudden interest in the interaction. She sat bolt upright staring at the two of them in an unnerving, almost calculating way.

Lindsay's hand quickly fell to her lap as her eyes flicked away from Izzy towards her fiancé. "Are you a baseball fan, Matt?" she asked, hoping to diffuse the situation before there was yet another uncalled for outburst from the young woman.

"Oh, yeah! I'm a huge baseball fan," Matt replied. He sensed the tension immediately and jumped right into his answer with almost a little too much enthusiasm. "It was the first and probably only sport I ever got into. My uncle and I started playing in the back yard when I first came to America. I really enjoyed it so we started training for little league when I started school. I was a decent player, good catcher, good hitter. But a career in baseball just wasn't in the cards for me. In the middle of my freshman year of high school we were playing one of our biggest rivals, the Spartans, and I was up to bat. The pitcher and I didn't really like each other much because we'd always get into it off the field. Anyway, he threw a wild pitch and it hit my left ankle, shattering it. I was in a cast for almost two months then went through four months of physical therapy. After that, I tried to get back into shape, but my ankle was worse off than anyone thought, and there went my baseball career."

"It's an honorable way to go," Danny said sadly. He'd folded his hands in front of him on the table and was staring down at the almost empty plate in front of him, his mind lost in its own little world. His memories of the last time he ever got to play were coming back to haunt him.

Matt could see the pain written all over the older man's face and suddenly felt bad for bringing it up. Izzy had told him about Danny's baseball career, how it had also been cut short, but never really went into detail about what happened. "I'm sorry," he quickly apologized. "I shouldn't have…"

"Don't worry about it," Danny answered, picking his head up and glancing at the younger man. "I know Izzy probably told you, and you're curious, so I might as well explain it." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. It had been a while since he'd told the story, but it was still fresh in his mind as if it had happened yesterday. "Summer of '97, I was out with a few of my teammates, celebrating a great game, barhopping, having a good time, trying to hook up with some of the college girls that were in town. We'd decided to check out Chumley's because we knew there would be a lot of NYU girls hanging out. So we were there for about an hour, and I was hitting on this really hot blonde girl, Judy…"

"Leave it to you to remember the details," Izzy snidely remarked with a smirk and a dramatic eye roll.

Danny glared at her for several moments, resisting the urge to lash out at her about her faults, and finished his story, "Anyway, as I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted…" One more glare in Izzy's direction helped emphasize the point. "I was talking to a girl named Judy when someone tapped my shoulder. I thought it was one of my friends wanting to piss me off and I turned around to find this enormous guy that had to be a linebacker or something. He told me to back off, that Judy was his girl, and she jumped in to tell him to leave her alone. I, being the cocky idiot that I was back then, decided to defend Judy and told him to back off. He pushed me, I pushed him, a fight ensued, and by the time both parties broke it up, I had a broken wrist, a broken nose, and a dislocated shoulder from trying to defend myself against that beast. The broken wrist is what took me out of the game. Even though my baseball career is over, I know that one door closed so another one could open, and I'm very happy where I am right now. I love what I'm doing and the people I work with." Danny's smile attested to his statement. It was infectious, and soon the others were smiling as well.

"That's good to hear," Matt replied, "gives me hope."

"Oh, please," Izzy retorted. She turned to her fiancé and wrapped her arms around him then kissed his cheek and added, "You've got the voice of an angel, the looks of a saint, and talent beyond compare. I know one of these days your demo will make it to some big wig's desk and he'll sign you right on the spot."

"You've got time," Danny reassured him. "It took me a while to get to where I am, so don't rush it. You'll find your destiny soon enough." Again, that infectious grin served as a reminder that Danny knew what he was talking about and that Matt need not worry about his future just yet.

"Ick, male bonding moment," Izzy teased before pushing her chair back and grabbing her plate, along with that of her fiancé, cousin, and anyone else within the immediate vicinity.

Lindsay couldn't help but giggle. She, too, noticed how quickly the boys had grown to like each other and was glad that she'd pushed Danny to put aside his pride and get to know Matt. It smoothed out everything so well now that the tension was gone, replaced with a comfortable acceptance.

* * *

AN2: 

Oh me oh my oh pumpkin pie! Y'all are LUCKY! Paris finally cooperated long enough before I got swamped to finish this chapter. Hope you liked it! DL moments abound like I promised! And there's a whole lot more to come!! I think you'll enjoy that too, once it's finished. We'll see when that happens. I'm currently at critical mass with all the shit that just blew up in my face these past two weeks. I've got the Sears thing that needs to be finished Tuesday, then after that I got my cousin's wedding program and CD that absolutely HAVE to be finished by tomorrow morning. I leave for that on Thursday. I'm still working on the program today so we can have it printed tomorrow, approval time permitting. Ack! I'm beyond critical mass at the moment. I'm ready to LOSE MY MIND!!! Which is why I can't get to the individual review responses, but hopefully after this week is over, I'll have enough time to finally take a breather from all the insanity of the past month. I am really really really sorry!! I know you guys understand. I woulda posted sooner, but like I said, shit blew up in my face and I've been trying for the last week (without much success) to rectify the situation. Thankfully since it's Sunday, I've gotten a few moments to myself while I burn a disk to post this new chapter, which you've all been waiting for. :) I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks always to my betas! Without you I'd be in hot water. :)

Thanks to the reviewers. You guys have saved my life (and this story!) from the chopping block. Please keep it up! Paris is very hungry for reviews especially after a time like this were life keeps giving me lemons. I WANNA MAKE SOME LEMONADE, DAMNIT! LoL! And then find someone who life gave vodka, and have a party!! (Hehehe, gotta love Ron White.)

Thanks to the lurkers who read my story and keep my striving to finish chapters. You guys are awesome!

Stay tuned, more story coming soon!

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


	14. Chapter 14

"Alright, who wants coffee?" Mama Messer said as she stood from her seat and started to make her way towards the kitchen. She started gathering the plates from her end of the table as Izzy came back to help her with the rest. That was the children's cue to hop out of their chairs and rush into the foyer to put on their coats so they could play outside again. Everyone else stayed put, too full or too tired to rush after them, and agreed to at least one cup of coffee before the trip home.

"You want some help, Aunt Clara?" Izzy asked as she got ready to head back into the kitchen to start the first pot of coffee.

"No, I've got it!" the older woman replied with a broad smile. "You can sit and chat with everybody. I know they all want details about the wedding. I'll have your uncle help me." Mama Messer patted her husband's shoulder and George quickly got up, following her into the kitchen as the rest of the family sat in content silence for a few moments, glancing at each other wondering who would be the first to speak up.

It didn't take long; the conversation quickly picked up when Uncle Carl said, "Speaking of weddings… Danny, when are you getting married?" The eyes of every single Messer turned at him as he sat in his chair, his expression having gone blank except for the look in his eyes: the look of absolute terror.

"Uh… well…" Danny stuttered, trying to buy some time as he continued to contemplate his answer. All this pressure was getting to him, and he knew he'd crack and say something about his interest in Lindsay, but he was quickly cut off when Uncle Carl butted in with his own answer.

"You're worrying me, kiddo. You've only brought two, no, three girls over to this house since high school, and they were all your colleagues; Lindsay, Stella, and Aiden." Danny's jaw clenched at the mention of his late partner's name, and he immediately started to take on a defensive posture, sitting stock still with his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes narrowed on his uncle, who seemed oblivious to the anger he was projecting at him as he continued, saying, "You're thirty years old, Daniel! You should have been married a long time ago and have kids by now! Tell me the truth, son, are you gay?"

"What?! _NO!_" Danny took immediate offense to his uncle's question and knew it was time to defend himself. No matter how badly he wanted to stand up and leave the room at that moment, a glance at Lindsay reassured him he still had one ally who would stick by his side if anything happened. Her face was soft and gentle, chocolate brown eyes large and understanding just as they had been after Aiden's death. They gave him the strength to overcome the outburst that threatened to explode from his mouth any moment and remain calm and collected until he finally figured out what to say. 'Damn you, woman,' Danny thought when he realized just how much of an effect Lindsay really had on his behavior.

Finally, he turned to Uncle Carl, and with as much coolness as he could muster, said, "I have plenty of ex-girlfriends who can verify that I'm not gay."

"Alright, alright," Uncle Carl conceded, throwing his arms up in surrender. But there were plenty of other things he had up his sleeve to get his nephew to talk. "Let me guess, Stella, Lindsay, and Aiden are at least three of them?" A sly grin crossed his face as his gaze continued to fall on Danny, who was now even more irritated than he'd ever seen his nephew.

"They're my _CO-WORKERS_," Danny made sure to put emphasis on the last word, now beyond angry by his uncle's assumptions. He felt Lindsay place her hand on his leg, his eyes flicking in her direction only for a moment to see she was trying to get him to calm down again. In her eyes he could see she was pleading with him to not go over the edge, that it wasn't worth it, but he knew it wouldn't take much more prodding to send him spiraling out of control. It pained Lindsay to see her friend have to go through so much on a day meant for celebration.

"Didn't seem that way with Aiden," Uncle Carl replied trying to make it sound like he was saying it under his breath even though the whole room could hear him.

Danny's eyes narrowed into thin slits. That comment had just crossed the line, especially with Lindsay sitting right beside him. He'd told her enough to make her realize that he and Aiden had never hit it off romantically, but when he'd first brought her over to the house three years back, there had been some feelings he hadn't discussed with her that might have made his uncle and everyone else think otherwise. It was all coming back to bite him in the ass now.

And what made it worse was when Izzy decided to put in her two cents as well. "Yeah, whatever happened to Aiden? I remember when you brought her over that one Easter. She was a really nice girl," she said.

This was one subject he didn't want to discuss in front of his family. The only people who knew about Aiden's death besides Lindsay were his parents, and they'd sworn to him they wouldn't tell a soul unless he said so. Telling people had been his business and his only, which meant the reason he'd missed Izzy's graduation would remain ambiguous until he or someone else told the family his real reasons for being in New York that day.

A quick flashback ran through Danny's mind to the day he found out about his former partner's death. It still felt fresh in his mind, seeing Aiden's face superimposed on the skull belonging to the charred body Hawkes, Lindsay and Stella pulled from a burnt out car in an alley. He'd walked out of the room, unable to handle all the emotions that quickly bubbled up inside. They had ranged from disbelief, shock and denial to great sadness and heartache. No matter how much time had passed, the grief never went away. He hadn't even gotten a chance to say good-bye, and that's what really hurt.

That night, after the CSI crew had disbanded and headed home from the bar, Danny had offered to walk Lindsay home. He'd felt terror back then too, a terror associated with trying to explain to her that his feelings for Aiden were nothing more than friendship. He'd been terrified that Lindsay would think Aiden had been more than a friend, that he liked her, which, admittedly, he had at one time, but after getting the "I'm way out of your league" comment, he'd decided it was better to be friends than lovers. Still, it scared him, divulging such sensitive information to his new partner and crush. But Lindsay had understood and even comforted him as they stood side by side in the cemetery a few days later watching the coffin being lowered into the ground. She'd taken his hand and squeezed it as a single tear had streaked down his cheek. They'd given each other sad smiles and grieved.

Now, though, it was all coming back with a sharp clarity that threatened to overcome the delicate defenses Danny had built to keep the world out of his painful memories. He had no idea how to keep himself from telling them without making his reasons sound suspicious, but before he even had a chance to say a word, the sound of Isobel's laughter reached his ears.

"Isobel…" Danny warned, his gaze now shifting now to his cousin, who sat across from him, seemingly oblivious to the tension that had exploded within the room. But a closer glance at her features revealed what Danny had feared to be true…that Izzy was well aware of what she was doing. She was the center of attention at Danny's expense and she was going to milk it for all it was worth.

Everyone else sat in silence watching the train wreck unfold before their eyes while Matt and Lindsay tried to diffuse the situation by putting a hand on their respective partners. But that didn't quell the flaring tempers. Danny didn't even notice that Lindsay was squeezing his arm, trying to get him to control himself. His eyes were fixed on his cousin, waiting like a cobra ready to strike at the right moment.

"What?" Izzy feigned innocence as she shrugged her shoulders before continuing, "You told me not to bring up you and Lindsay, not Aiden." Her smile turned menacing when she added, "Is she why you and Lindsay are just friends?"

Across the table, Lindsay sat shell-shocked, unable to believe that she'd been a topic of conversation, although she had a feeling it had happened. That was to be expected in such a large family, but having it confirmed was a whole different ballgame. She tensed up almost immediately and felt trapped until she glanced over at Danny to find his reaction mirrored her own. His mouth hung open as he stared daggers at his cousin who was completely oblivious to the anger and hurt crossing his face.

It was obvious that even if Danny had mentioned her, he had specifically asked Izzy not to bring the idea of Danny and Lindsay up in conversation. Seeing how upset that broken promise made Danny enabled Lindsay to close her own mouth and wait for some clue as to what she could do to help get him out of this situation.

Matt slipped his hand over Izzy's shoulder and leaned into her ear, whispering, "I think you're making Danny uncomfortable."

She turned to him and pouted, "You're taking his side?! You're my fiancé. Whatever happened to taking my side?" Matt's face went slack when he realized there was no stopping her this time. She was on a roll and the only time she'd really figure out that what she was doing was wrong would be after the fact. So he let her be. They'd discuss this later, when they were alone, and out of earshot. Matt gave Lindsay an apologetic look, which she returned.

Izzy turned her attention back to her cousin and feigning innocence, replied, "You never told me _not_ to bring up Aiden." Her grin became devious when she added, "So again, Danny, is she the reason you and Lindsay are 'just friends'?" Before Danny could even open his mouth, she had already turned to her father and said, "It makes sense. After all, they looked so cute together that one Easter I decided to fly in from Chicago and surprise the family."

"No kidding," Uncle Carl picked up on the thread his daughter left, continuation on with his own assumptions. "I was so surprised when I saw there was a girl with you at the church that I thought for a second maybe I'd been tricked into being part of a wedding or something!" He chuckled at his own joke, something Danny immensely resented. "The way you were all over her, letting her go into the pew first, giving her all the pretty eggs your mother made, letting her pick through your basket after the egg hunt and take your favorite candies, it was like you were a whipped puppy. And the fact that you talked about her nonstop for the next month didn't make it any better. 'Aiden's one hell of a cook' or 'Aiden said the funniest thing.' It was cute!" He kept laughing, this time adding, "You were 'Whipped Cream' as far as we were concerned." The rest of the family nervously laughed along with him. They could also tell Danny was uncomfortable with this conversation and that he was angry and annoyed that they weren't stopping.

The scowl present on Danny's face turned into an angry glare, but he remained silent, seething on the inside as Uncle Carl and Izzy made his life a living nightmare by bringing up all these old memories of Aiden. They had all but evaporated from his mind and mentioning them was what really made his heart ache and slowly crumble. He wanted nothing more than to jump out of his seat and run, but he sat there, his eyes becoming distant the longer they went on with their tangent.

"I love the sense of humor on that girl," Izzy continued. "The way she seemed to be able to cut you down with just a few words was hilarious! And cute at the same time because you'd just sit there and take it, especially when she started to tell us about all those funny little screw-ups you made in the lab. You just laughed along with her. That's something you would _never_ do with me. You'd kick my ass if I ever told people any of the dirt I had on you." She laughed, slipping into a short reverie.

From his seat, Danny wished he could do that right now. He'd ring Izzy's neck the moment this conversation was over if he could get the chance.

"Yeah, and the way you acted as if you didn't like her when you really did," Uncle Carl picked up where his daughter left off. "Don't think we didn't notice! It was obvious! I bet you still like her, don't you?"

"He probably does," Izzy cut in, addressing the rest of the family. "They're probably just on a 'break' or something, which is why he brought someone else with him. Either that or she's working on a case and can't get out of the lab."

After having heard all that, Lindsay couldn't believe her ears. They way Izzy just seemed to go off as if she wasn't there had angered her to the point where she wanted nothing more than to kick her ass. She felt dissed and dismissed after that last sentence, like she wasn't even in the room. Her eyes narrowed on the young woman sitting kitty corner to her as she too began to feel alienated.

By now, Danny had been rendered speechless by his uncle's and his cousin's tirade. He didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do. He just stared at them blankly. Glancing at Lindsay, he could see she was just as uncomfortable as he was, and for good reason. Remembering the conversation he'd overheard when she was talking to her mother on the phone, Danny knew this sudden outpouring of information would probably lead her to change her mind about him, and he could do nothing about it considering the way Uncle Carl and Izzy didn't know when to stop. They hadn't even given him a chance to explain. His heart sank into his shoes and he looked down at the dark hardwood table in front of him ready to jump at the first chance he had.

"You know, the more I think about it, she seemed perfect for you. So she either dropped off the face of the planet or she told you to drop dead. I bet you screwed up with her big time! So which is it? She dropped dead or told you to?" Izzy finally finished, her eyes falling on Danny as he stared back at her, his eyes completely blank. Without warning, he stood up and started to walk out of the room, Lindsay following closely behind. "Hey, hey, hey! Where do you think you're going? I thought you wanted us to get close again!" Izzy yelled after him, now becoming angry herself. She wasn't used to not getting her way, especially with Danny. And it pissed her off even more that he refused to acknowledge her. "I can't even ask you about your life without you getting all pissy with me! That's not fair! I tell you everything and you can't even give me a few tiny details!"

Danny whirled around, his face marred by anger, and spat, "You… You just don't get it, do you?"

Izzy blinked, momentarily sideswiped, but soon replied, "Get what? That you're shutting me out again?" Danny stared at her and shook his head as his hands clenched into fists at his side. He huffed a breath and opened his mouth but couldn't find the words he was looking for.

Izzy stood up and shrugged Matt's tightly clenched hand off her arm. "What don't I get?" Her voice rose an octave in anger, "That I can't tease you about your girlfriend? It's not like Aiden's here to get mad at me, right? And if you guys aren't together and you like Lindsay, then I'm sure she already knows what happened between you and Aiden, so what's the big deal?"

Before Danny could explode, he felt warm fingertips against his cheek. Momentarily startled, he looked at Lindsay, who moved in front of him and nodded toward the door with a soft smile. He glared at her for a moment, his rage needing an outlet. Recognizing this, Lindsay dropped the smile and stepped up close to him, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered, "You can yell at me all you want once we're outside, but I'm not going to let you help her make this a horrible memory for everyone here. Now let's go."

When Danny refused to move, Lindsay pushed him, and he almost cracked a grin at the lack of strength she used. It was the tension breaker he needed; he nodded and led Lindsay through the kitchen where his parents took one look at Danny's face and sighed heavily as he stormed out of the house.

Lindsay grabbed their coats and offered a weak smile as she walked up to them and said, "I'm really sorry we're leaving like this. I've enjoyed meeting you and I really appreciate you opening your home to me today. It was extremely generous of you." Danny's dad smiled and shook her hand while his mom offered up a hug which Lindsay gratefully accepted.

"Take care of him," Mama Messer whispered. Lindsay nodded and hastened out the door to the car where Danny was waiting for her.

"God _damn it_! Son of a bitch! Where the _hell_ are my fuckin' keys?" he was cursing as he stood in the snow beside the large black SUV searching his pockets, turning them inside out as the frustration of having sat through one of the most painful moments of his life made its way through his system.

"They're in your coat," Lindsay flatly replied, not wanting to add to it. She had already slipped hers on and had draped his over her arm as she walked out onto the snow covered driveway. Danny glanced in her direction as she continued to make her way over to him until she was standing behind him, holding his coat so he could put it on. Lindsay helped slip it over his shoulders, her hands lingering there for a moment as he adjusted the collar before she wrapped them around his waist. She held him there for a backwards hug even though he protested by trying to wiggle his way out of her grasp.

Danny soon gave up the struggle and let out a heavy sigh. The gesture, albeit small, eased his mind ever so slightly. He let his hands rest over hers and leaned back feeling the warmth of her body radiating through him. Closing his eyes, he let his frustration momentarily dissipate, but it continued to linger like the thick clouds over their heads.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

AN: Well, it looks like Paris is finally getting back into the swing of things, even tho we both still feel like y'all hate this story after the turn it took. Hopefully this chapter is slowly beginning to rectify that decision. I still maintain that the Izzy drama has a point and that it's gonna bring Danny and Lindsay closer together. If you haven't noticed in this chapter already, hehe, especially the end. (Insert shit eating grin.) More moments like that coming soon!! Well, if I haven't been totally shunned, that is.

Please, if you like what you've read, feed the muse with a review. She thrives on them, and the only reason it takes me so long to get her going is because she can never get enough. I'm not trying to coerce you into giving me reviews, I'm just saying I like a little praise every once in a while. Lord knows, I don't get much in real life.

Anyway, onto the thank yous:

To my beta, roswellwbfan, who has single-handedly saved me from myself where this story is concerned. Hehe. Don't know where my writing would be without her input. Thanks sooo much chica! Now, if only you'd update a little more often... (Insert second shit eating grin here.)

To the lurkers and all those of you who have just put me on Author Alert and your faves: YOU GUYS ARE TOTALLY FREAKIN AWESOME!!!! Thank you thank you thank you!! I can't thank you enough for your continued support. That really helps when I'm stuck in a rut and don't know what to do. Seeing that message in my inbox that someone's added my story to their alerts or faves really gives me a boost, and I thank you whole heartedly for that!

And for those of you wondering how the wedding went... It ROCKED!! Hehe. I got pix on myspace from it so you can check those out whenever you like. The link's on my profile page. Also, I saw Darren Hayes, live, in concert, TWICE!!!! WOOHOOOOOO!!! Both his Chicago shows were freakin amazing!! OMG! That man is a GOD on stage! And his new tracks, I've got a feeling he'll be tearing up the charts. I've got pix from that on myspace too. Hehe. If anyone wants more info on either one, PM me and I'll be glad to give you details, especially the whole "Gay Men and Thongs" story from the Darren Hayes concert. Yeah, let that marinate for a little bit then ask me. It's a whole lot funnier than you can possible imagine!

Alright, I must get a move on now. Work awaits. Thanks again for taking the time out of your busy schedules to read and review. Very very much appreciated! And hopefully one of these days when life gives me some time off, I'll be able to read your stories as well and give you some positive feedback. :) Have a great day, everyone!

Stay tune, more story coming soon!!

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!

-DK


	15. Chapter 15

"What happened in here?" Mama Messer sternly asked as she stomped into the room with her hands on her hips. Glancing around the table, her gaze immediately fell upon Izzy when she noticed the telltale signs that she was angry. Her arms were crossed over her chest and there was a scowl present on her face.

"Finally, someone who doesn't know what happened!" Izzy exclaimed as she turned to her aunt and started to explain what had happened between her and Danny thinking she'd have an ally. But the longer she went on, the bigger her aunt's frown became. When Izzy stopped and she didn't respond, another rush of anger ran through her and she said, "Don't tell me you're gonna take his side too! Can't you see he's being selfish?"

"The only person I see around here who's being selfish is you," Mama Messer snapped back, her eyes narrowing on her niece.

"Oh, come now, Clara!" Uncle Carl finally butted in, standing up for his daughter. "We were just teasing the boy! There's no need to be calling Isobel selfish! After all, he's got a mouth. He coulda said something."

"Teasing him on a touchy subject like Aiden was the last thing you needed to do!" she retorted, not bothering to explain herself.

"Aiden's a touchy subject? When did that happen?" Uncle Carl asked, hoping to find out. "Last I remember he was head over heels for that girl. Why all of a sudden all this 'no talking about Aiden' crap? What'd Danny do to screw things up with her?"

"It's not my place to say," Mama Messer snapped at him. "That's something you should have asked him _before_ you started this nonsense. Maybe then you'd see why he kept his mouth shut."

"Then how am I being selfish? Danny's the one who refused to talk! He's the one who got pissed at me for teasing him about Aiden! What the hell is his problem? It's like I can't ask him about anything anymore! If there was something he needed to tell us about Aiden, then why didn't he just come out and say it? We would have stopped!" she yelled as the rest of the family sat silently watching the two of them battle it out.

"But did you ever stop and think he had a reason for not wanting to tell you?" Mama Messer replied. No matter how much she wanted Izzy and Uncle Carl to see why Danny had reacted the way he did, she wasn't about to give away his secret. That was something Danny needed to do himself, but with the way things were going and how irrational the two of them were being, she was probably going to have to tell them the truth.

"Then why didn't he just come out and tell me when we started talking about Aiden?" Izzy asked again as she got up from her seat and stood level with her aunt.

"It sounds like you never gave him the chance," Mama Messer answered. "Because if you had, he probably would have told you."

"I give up!" Izzy threw her hands up in the air as a sign that her patience was about to snap. "Geez! What the hell's wrong with this family? Why are you guys keeping stuff from me? What's the big deal? What's this huge secret that Danny can't tell me? Or am I just not supposed to ever find out?"

"Isobel, I told you, it's not my place..." Mama Messer held up a hand to silence Izzy, whose mouth had dropped open to undoubtedly launch again, "but I can see that you're only going to make things worse unless you're set straight. So here it is. Aiden's dead."

Izzy's jaw snapped shut and she blinked. "That's not funny, Aunt Clara." Her eyes narrowed at the older woman. This was not the type of joke to be making during such a serious discussion.

"No, it really isn't. Aiden died the day before your college graduation. Danny had to work her murder instead of going to Chicago." There, she'd finally told her and the rest of the family. Mama Messer wasn't happy about it, but it was a necessary evil. Hopefully Danny would understand, but she didn't know. Only time would tell.

A collective hush fell over the room. Izzy was at a loss for words. Her mouth drop open as her eyes widened and her heart nearly stopped. The CSI Danny mentioned having been killed was Aiden… The pieces were suddenly falling into place and the picture they created was an unsavory one. The anger died down and was punctuated by a pang of guilt as she softly asked, "Why didn't he tell me?"

Mama Messer just sighed deeply and replied, "You remember how you reacted when I said Danny wasn't coming to your graduation? You didn't give me a chance to explain why; you just yelled and hung up. I figured if you were going to act childish, I'd let you."

"But… But… Why didn't _he_ tell me? Why didn't he say anything when we started talking about Aiden?" Izzy was trying to rationalize and justify her behavior, but her guilt continued to increase.

"Because you didn't give him the chance. You just kept going."

"But… But…" she stumbled to find the words and gave up when she couldn't think of any. "Oh, my God... What have I done?" Izzy whispered when the full gravity of the situation finally hit her. She covered her mouth with her hand as a strangled gasp escaped her lips. Her eyes flicked towards the door and without a second thought, Izzy flew off her chair and ran towards the foyer hoping she wasn't too late.

Outside, after the softness of the moment had finally passed, Lindsay let go of Danny and began to make her way towards the large SUV parked in the driveway. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" he called to her just before she opened the driver's side door.

"I'm getting in the car," Lindsay dumbly replied as she gave him a dubious look.

"You're not driving," Danny said, searching his pockets for his keys until he realized that she'd taken them in the midst of their hug and was now holding them between her thumb and forefinger, dangling them out in front of her so he'd notice. The grin on her face was enough to put one on his as well. "C'mon, Montana, you don't even know the way home," he reasoned.

"I might not, but you're in no condition to drive. You're an emotional wreck. One study showed that driving while upset makes a person less aware of their surrounds and prone to accidents," Lindsay sprouted off the trivia as she stepped into the driver's seat and waited for Danny to follow suit. "Besides, we've got GPS. I think I can manage."

Danny gave her an exaggerated eye roll before he opened the passenger's side door. "Whatever, Montana, let's just go home." He was tired and knew she was right about him being an emotional wreck. He'd had enough of his family for one night. He didn't think he could take anymore until the front door opened and Izzy came running out.

"Danny, wait!" she yelled as she hopped off the porch.

Danny and Lindsay were both startled by her sudden appearance, which made Danny become visibly tense again, his hands clenching into fists until his knuckles turned white. He was well beyond his tolerance with her, so much so that if she stepped any closer, he probably would have grabbed her by the neck and strangled her. But Lindsay was quick to notice and got out of the car as she whispered, "I'll take care of her. You just get in." Danny didn't argue. He wanted to be nowhere near his cousin at the moment, and letting her take care of everything helped keep him from doing something he probably would regret the next morning.

Lindsay met Izzy halfway and planted herself in front of her as she folded her arms across her chest, saying, "You're not talking to him." Izzy almost smiled and went to move past Lindsay, who put an arm out to stop her. "I mean it, Isobel. You take one more step towards him and you _will_ find yourself ass over teakettle on the ground, I promise you that."

Izzy's anger began to return and she stomped her foot on the ground. "Listen! I just want to apologize to him!"

Lindsay lifted her head from watching Izzy's foot stomp and nodded. "I can see that. And as has been the theme for today, it's all about what _you_ want, isn't it?" Izzy was shocked into silence and Lindsay kept on, her voice never wavering from the calm determined tone she used when dealing with criminals. "Do us both a favor and go back into the house and take some time to _think_ about what you're going to say, all right? Give it some thought and you'll realize a simple 'I'm sorry' may not cut it."

Izzy continued to stare at Lindsay, her mouth gaping. She wasn't used to being put in her place by someone she barely knew, and she didn't like it, prompting her to try once to get past Lindsay so she could talk to Danny herself. But she was quickly stopped when she felt a firm hand on her right shoulder. Izzy looked back to find Matt standing behind her, his eyes narrowed in a glare.

_I'm holding on your rope  
Got me ten feet off the ground_

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he nearly spat at her as Lindsay quickly retreated to the safety of the SUV only to find that Danny had taken the driver's seat. She wasn't going to argue with him right now, she just wanted to get away from Izzy as fast as possible, something Danny had no objections to. He floored it out of the driveway and sped down the street, leaving Matt and Izzy to stand outside and watch as they made their escape.

"What the hell is your fucking problem?" Izzy yelled at her fiancé as she watched her cousin drive off without so much as a goodbye.

_And I'm hearing what you say  
But I just can't make a sound_

"I should ask you the same thing!" Matt shot back.

"I just wanted to apologize to him for being an ass and ask him why the hell he didn't have the balls to tell me about Aiden's death," she acridly responded. There was no remorse in her voice now, only resolve. She was determined to continue cutting Danny down until she got what she wanted, something Matt wasn't about to let her do.

_You tell me that you need me  
Then you go and cut me down  
But wait..._

"You really are selfish," he finally said in a calm voice.

"You're calling me selfish now?!" Izzy cut loose. With no one around to stop her, she let all her frustration out on Matt. "What in fucking hell is going on tonight? First my family calls me selfish, and now you call me selfish? The only selfish person I see around here is Danny! He's the one who wouldn't tell me jack shit about what's going on in his life and expects me to tell him everything about mine. He's the one who's been keeping one hell of a big secret from me. He's the one who can't take a fucking joke!"

"What you did in there was not funny," Matt remained cool and collected as he spoke. "What you did in there was destroy whatever bond you had with your cousin. I've seen you do some cold, heartless things, Isobel, and I've let them slide because I thought you'd learn from your mistakes, but this takes the cake. Couldn't you see he was hurting when you and your father went off on him about Aiden?"

_You tell me that you're sorry  
Didn't think I'd turn around and say…_

"It's not my fault!" she cried, her eyes narrowed to angry slits. "If I'd known about Aiden I never would have—"

But when she saw Matt shaking his head she stopped mid-tirade. Matt looked at her with a mixture of pity and scorn. "That's why you're sorry?" he asked. "That's the only thing you see as being wrong with what you did? You're only sorry that Aiden's dead, not that—"

"What the hell, Matt?" she interrupted mid stride. "Isn't that enough of a reason to feel sorry?"

_That it's too late to apologize, it's too late  
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late_

"You can't drop something even when a person tells you to drop it! You have to keep pestering them until they either give up and tell you what you want to know or they shut down, which is exactly what Danny did!" he exploded, not knowing how to make her see just what she'd done.

"If he had just cared enough to tell me then none of this would have happened!" Izzy shot back, becoming all the more irritated that he didn't understand her reasoning.

Matt just stared at her for a minute. "How did your last conversation go with Danny?"

Izzy bit her lip for a moment as she remembered being rather terse with Danny when he called to tell her that there was a big case that needed his undivided attention. He knew her well enough to realize that her muttered "fine" meant anything but that.

Matt watched the play of emotions across her face and he nodded as he recognized the flash of guilt. "So given your rather emotional responses," he continued, "is it a real surprise that he'd have kept that to himself? And taking you out of the equation entirely, think about Danny and what he was going through. One of his best friends, someone he may have even had feelings for at one point, is murdered and he has to work the case. Is it so strange that he would have been struggling to distance himself so that he could be professional about it, do his job to the best of his ability and hopefully avenge his friend and former partner?"

Isobel could see the truth in what he was saying but she was reluctant to let go of her anger. "But it's been long enough since then, he could have told me! He should have told me!" she yelled back.

Matt nodded. "Sure, so when exactly was that going to happen? When you brought up her name and he gave you that look and said your name in that way that clearly said 'back the fuck off' and you just kept going? Was he supposed to then fill in the whole family? I imagine it was pretty tough for him to relive that, never mind Lindsay being here too."

Yes! A new subject Izzy could direct her anger towards. "Oh! And speaking of Lindsay, where the hell does she get off talking to me like that? Threatening me?" Izzy ranted and Matt gaped at her.

"Are you serious? Couldn't you see what you did to Lindsay?"

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Oh great, here we go. Go on; defend poor psychotic Lindsay like I did her some horrible wrong."

Matt felt his temper flare again. He was tempted to just leave her out there but he knew she'd go in the house and yell some more and he instead held on to the hope that he could make her look at the situation from a different perspective. "You made it seem like she wasn't even there!" he finally said. "Not only have you single handedly managed to make Danny feel like crap, you've also managed to ruin any chance of bringing him and Lindsay together."

"What! I did no such thing!" Izzy immediately took offense to his claims. In her mind, she didn't see it that way at all. If anything, the idea didn't even register at all.

"Oh my god you can't be serious!" But Matt could tell from her expression that she was. "You pretty much made it sound like Danny was in love with Aiden and that Lindsay was his very obvious second choice. How do you think that made her feel? Did you stop to think that maybe she would believe you?"

Izzy frowned. If Lindsay and Danny were close then she probably already knew all about Aiden so where was the harm? Matt read her expression clear as day. "What if she didn't know about Aiden, Izzy? What if she came here today only knowing that Aiden had died and that she was Danny's former partner?" he earnestly questioned.

Well if that was true then maybe she had given Lindsay the idea that Danny was in love with Aiden, Izzy thought to herself with a pang of guilt. Her brown furrowed. Not good…

"You destroyed Danny's trust in you. He specifically asked you not to bring up him and Lindsay, and—"

"I didn't!" Izzy interrupted, outraged that Matt would be implying such a thing.

_I'd take another chance, take a fall, take a shot for you  
And I need you like a heart needs a beat  
(But that's nothing new)  
Yeah yeah_

"So when you said 'you told me not to bring up you and Lindsay' and then you asked if Aiden was the reason they were just friends… that was your way of not bringing it up? Your way was to instead imply that Danny was carrying a torch for someone who we now know is dead. That must have made both Lindsay and Danny feel great about their chances to have a relationship. Now Lindsay is left to wonder if what you said is true and Danny has to decide if he can even salvage a relationship with her. I wouldn't be surprised if they stopped being friends after this."

"Oh my god, could you be any more melodramatic, Matt? I'm sure they'll be laughing it up before long," she replied, rolling her eyes at him as she crossed her arms over her chest. This argument was getting annoying.

Matt's temper snapped, "That's your problem, Isobel! You have no foresight! You don't understand the concept of quitting while you're ahead! It's all about what you can get out of the situation, never mind who you have to step on to do so! And after seeing you do something like this, I'm tempted to take that ring off your finger and just leave you here because I'm afraid you might do something like this again!"

_I loved you with a fire red, now it's turning blue  
And you say  
Sorry like an angel, heavens not the thing for you,  
But I'm afraid…_

That was the last straw. Izzy boiled over and exploded, "Fine! You wanna be that way, here's your stupid ring!" She pulled it off her finger and threw it at him.

Matt caught it without a problem. He rolled it around in his hand for a moment before gazing back up at her. Sighing, he calmly replied, "If that's how you feel…" He then turned around and started to walk back towards the house.

Izzy watched him go. The past few minutes replayed in her head and she quickly came to realize that she'd just broken off the engagement. "Matt?" she called to him, hoping he'd turn around and come back so they could talk about this. But he continued walking. "Matt, wait!" she yelled, making a mad dash for the front door. When she finally caught up with him on the porch, Izzy asked, "Matt, what are you doing?"

"I'm going inside to grab my things and leaving for the hotel," he flatly answered, his eyes cold and distant.

_It's too late to apologize, it's too late  
I said it's too late to apologizes, it's too late  
Woahooo whoa_

"C'mon, don't do this," Izzy pleaded as she wrapped herself around him. "It was just a stupid fight. We can talk about this, please? I… I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thrown the ring at you."

But Matt wasn't having any of it. He could see right through the faux apology. It was just her last ditch effort to keep things together before everything fell apart. "That wasn't a stupid fight," Matt answered. "If anything, it made me realize just what kind of person you really were. So here's my suggestion to you, Isobel: Why don't you sit out here for a while and think about what you've done?"

_It's too late to apologize, it's too late_

"So now you're putting me in time out? Real mature, Matt," she retorted, her hands resting on her hips as her eyes narrowed at him.

Matt continued speaking as if Izzy hadn't said a word. "Then when you've finally figured out how you managed to blow several good things at once, you can come find me inside and I'll judge for myself if your apology is genuine." He turned once more, opened the door, and went back inside, leaving Izzy out in the cold, dark night.

_I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late_

When the door slammed shut, she jumped slightly at the sound. Izzy stood there for several long moments, her mind slowly processing everything that had just happened. Alright, so she had been a little harsh where Matt was concerned, but she had every right to be angry with Danny. After all, he'd kept one hell of a secret from her for almost a year now, one that had the potential of granting him forgiveness from being absent at her graduation. But he'd continued to keep it from her until her aunt finally spilled the beans. It made Izzy's blood boil to the point where she couldn't see things clearly.

"God damn him!" she growled, stomping over to the bench and sitting down. She wrapped her arms around herself and stared out at the snow-covered landscape. The weather had finally let up, giving way to slightly clearer skies even though several thick billowing clouds remained hanging around the city skyline. No more snow was falling, and it seemed as if everything had cooled down another ten degrees. The wind napped at her face as it blew past her, turning her cheeks a bright red as she shivered in the darkness.

Completely and utterly alone, Izzy began to replay the entire night's events in her head. From the moment she stepped into the house, Izzy realized that she'd been trying to get Danny to talk to her by force and not by trust. It had been so long since they'd been able to sit down and have a conversation that she resorted to talking to him the way she talked to the people that she wanted to keep at an arm's distance. Somehow, they'd lost the bond that had once been almost unbreakable. They had become strangers to themselves, all because neither one could suck in their pride and voice their fears.

_I said it's too late to apologize, yeah yeah_

Recalling the first fight of the evening, Izzy distinctly remembered Danny telling her that the reason he'd lost touch was because he felt abandoned. Now that she had some time to think about that statement, she realized just how deep a nerve it really was. Ever since Louie joined the Tanglewood Boys, the brothers had been drifting apart, and that night when Louie inadvertently severed ties with Danny for his own good, Danny had felt the first sting of abandonment.

Unconsciously, Izzy started to chew on her nails, a bad habit that she still hadn't broken herself from since childhood. She did it when she was lost in thought, like she now was as she realized how deep the rift between her cousins really went, especially with Louie in the hospital clinging to life. It tugged on her heart, that feeling of somehow adding to Danny's mental anguish. When she moved to Chicago to start college, she had no idea she would only make it worse, and now she wished she could have talked to him about it earlier instead of let it fester and manifest into something that was beyond both their control.

And the whole thing with Aiden…yikes. It was too much to process, but she knew that she and her dad had maybe gone overboard with the teasing. This whole day was a disaster. First she lost her cousin, and now she'd lost her best friend… She let her head fall into her hands and sat back down on the bench. There was nothing more she wanted than to apologize to them all for the way she'd acted and explain herself, but just as Lindsay had said, it would take more than a simple "I'm sorry" to make things right. She set to work trying to figure out how to rectify this horrible mistake she'd made, even if it took all night sitting out in the freezing cold. Realizing that the whole situation may be beyond rectifying, Izzy finally did something she least expected; she began to cry.

The door opened and Matt came out, guitar case in hand. Izzy shot to her feet. "What are you doing?" she asked through her tears.

He heaved a great sigh. "I thought about it and I realized that I'm in no state to listen to anything you have to say, assuming that you could even manage to come up with something I'd actually want to hear. So for the sake of what we have I'm leaving now before there's a chance things could get worse between us." Although Matt hated seeing the pain written all over her face, he knew this was the best thing to do. He continued walking down the driveway, not bothering to look back, afraid that if he did, he could possibly cave and everything he'd worked so hard to make her see would go up in smoke.

_I said it's too late to apologize, a yeah_

"No Matt! Don't go!" Izzy sobbed but Matt held firm. She ran towards him, grabbing his arm to stop him just before he reached their rental car.

"I'll call you tomorrow, Iz," he half heartedly replied as he opened the passenger's side door and set his guitar inside. He walked to the driver's side, got in, and drove off, unable to look back.

Izzy was left standing there again, watching the second man in her life disappear off in the distance. More tears dripped down her face as her head hung low. Guilt and remorse permeated her thoughts as she walked back up to the porch and sat down on the bench again, curling her legs against her body and wrapping her arms around them as her chin rested on her knees. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' she chided herself, her sobs becoming stronger as the loneliness finally hit her.

_I'm holding your rope  
Got me ten feet off the ground..._

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Music: "Apologize" by Timbaland

AN: Yeah, 2 weeks to post a new chapter!! Damn, Paris is really on a roll now!!! Hehe, when plot bunnies attack!! Alright, so all you Izzy haters out there, I hope you liked this chapter. I was really trying to get some closure on the whole Danny-Aiden-Izzy-Matt-Lindsay situation, because there's still a lot set to happen before this story's over, and it seems the plot bunnies have decided to add a few more chapters than I anticipated, but believe me, they're gonna be REAL good!

Gotta give a HUGE thanks to prplerayne for giving me that idea about Matt taking the ring back. That REALLY got the plot bunnies hopping, hehe. And another HUGE thanks to roswellwbfan as well for pretty much taking the bits and pieces of the Matt-Izzy fight scene I wrote and turning it into that spectacular fallout. Both of you freakin ROCK!!

To the Lurkers: You guys are awesome too!! WOW! I got so many story alerts that I'm truly shocked and blessed that you guys like this story so much! Thank you!!!

And if you haven't already seen, there's a new story up on my other profile, The Dirty Martini. It's called "Blindfolded" and it's a bit on the kinky side, so for those of you who aren't mature enough to read it, please stay away, but the rest of you, enjoy!! It's definitely almost as steamy as "The Tension and the Spark" if not more. (Insert shit eating grin)

Alright, well, that's about it for this installment. Stay tuned, more story coming soon!

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


	16. Chapter 16

The silence in the Avalanche was deafening. Danny stared out at the nearly empty road, his eyes distant, his face stone straight. Lindsay's heart cried out for him. All that pain from Aiden's death had been re-exposed in a manner that left them both wondering what to do next. In terms of their feelings for each other… Izzy had done a great job instilling a shadow of a doubt in her mind where Aiden was concerned. Did he or didn't he…? The question lingered.

Fed up with the silence and sick of her looping thoughts, Lindsay reached over to the center consol and turned on the radio. It was the only thing that would keep her from going insane at the moment since it was obvious Danny wasn't ready to talk. The Christmas music had died down and she found a station playing some adult contemporary hits. The Goo Goo Dolls last few lines of "Better Days" were just fading out as the beginning of Rob Thomas's "Little Wonders" began to play. Lindsay smiled. She liked this song.

Danny was catapulted out of his thoughts when he heard the radio turn on. A look in Lindsay's direction revealed the smile on her face, a comforting gesture after a long and disastrous day. If he could rewind and go back to the moment he'd suggested bringing her over for Christmas dinner, he'd never have done it. But the look in her eyes and the smile on her face brought to the forefront every feeling of remorse he felt. Why was she even smiling? After everything Izzy had done, he thought she'd be ready to run as far away from him as was physically possible.

"Are you okay?" Lindsay asked. There was genuine concern in her voice. She wanted to be strong for him, give him the benefit of the doubt, and let him tell her what was really going on.

He continued to stare at her, wondering whether she was serious and really wanted to talk to him. She was probably just trying to be nice. After all, he'd just put her through hell. There was no way she'd actually still have feelings for him considering what Izzy had done.

"I'm so sorry…" Danny began to say, but was quickly shushed.

"What happened back there wasn't your fault," Lindsay replied. She smiled at him, a warm, comforting smile that he took as her just trying to let him down easily.

Danny nodded, his eyes returning to the road as he clammed up again, not wanting to voice his thoughts even though he knew he should. Besides, what could he say? He didn't think there was anything that would make up for this evening. This was one screw up he knew there was no easy fix to. Only time would tell how it sorted itself out.

Making a left onto Lindsay's street, he pulled the car up to her apartment building and turned off the engine. They sat there for several moments, their eyes staring out the windshield until Lindsay finally turned to him and said, "Thanks for the ride."

"You're welcome," Danny replied unable to look in her direction. He pushed the door open and headed for the trunk to grab her bags. Lindsay followed suit. She sensed the tension and decided not to push it. Danny had enough on his mind, and the last thing she wanted to do was add to the drama. She was tired and needed to get some rest before having to make more phone calls to the airport and the train station. Home was still beckoning, and she wasn't about to give up trying to get back.

With her bags now sitting on the frozen pavement, Lindsay turned to Danny as he shut the trunk and slipped his hands in his pockets. "So…" he started to say, his eyes flicking to his shoes as he spoke. "I guess this is good night."

"Yeah," Lindsay replied. She smiled again, hoping that this time he'd be able to see she was being sincere as she added, "Good night, Danny. And merry Christmas." Then she did something he didn't expect. Her arms wrapped around his neck for a quick hug. He was stunned into silence and unable to react until after she was pulling away. The smile was still present on her face as she retreated towards the front door of the apartment building, although Danny could read the disappointment and loneliness on her features as well.

"Merry Christmas, Montana," Danny said softly as she walked up the steps lugging her bags behind her and looking for her keys. He got back into the SUV and started to make his way back to his own place, but not before he was sure she'd made it up to her apartment safely. When the light in her window flicked on, he pulled away from the curb and started making his way through the nearly deserted city streets. The occasional cabbie would pass him up, but he paid no mind. His thoughts were focused on that evening's events.

A cloud of depression rolled over Danny that only seemed to become amplified by the cold and desolate city streets. His fears of abandonment had come full circle tonight. Not only had he seemingly lost his cousin, he'd also lost one of his best friends as well, and it felt like there was nothing he could do about it. He wanted to go back, forget that he'd even mentioned having Lindsay over for dinner that night, and just focus on building up his relationship with Izzy again, but that wasn't going to happen. She had really dug herself a hole this time, and it didn't look like she'd be able to climb out no matter what she tried to do to make things better.

'I wish Lou were up and about and that we'd gotten past all this stuff so I could ask him for advice,' Danny sadly thought. He'd been thinking about his brother a lot lately with it being the holidays and all. Louie would randomly pop into his head from time to time, but today it seemed he was always on Danny's mind. Every minute of that day from the moment he stepped into his parents' house to the moment he left it, Louie had been a deep and demanding thought that only went away when Izzy did something to make him angry. Now, with Izzy out of the picture and Lindsay safely home, Danny could give his brother a little more attention. 'Why can't I?' he continued thinking. 'People talk to people in comas all the time, the doctors think they can hear us.'

Danny made a quick u-turn at the next light and headed for his brother's hospital room instead. The drive was spent contemplating all that had happened between the two of them. Although Louie had been as big of a pain in the ass as Izzy had, there was still the fact that he'd almost lost his life to save Danny's, which was why he'd fallen into good graces, unlike his cousin. Louie had nearly sacrificed himself just so his brother would stay out of trouble and keep the job he'd worked so hard to get. It made Danny wonder what would have happened had they solved their differences much earlier than let them come out at the most trying of times. Maybe he wouldn't be going to visit his brother in a hospital room right now.

Maybe they'd be back at home sharing a beer over old stories. Maybe this whole Izzy fiasco could have been avoided… And maybe, just maybe, Lindsay would be more than a friend right now. Danny quickly shook that thought out of his mind. 'Like anything's gonna happen now that Izzy fucked it all up…' he bitterly thought, turning into the hospital's parking garage.

Back at the house, Izzy remained outside, her arms tightly wrapped around her lithe frame as she shivered from the sub zero temperatures that were now settling in. She was still trying to find that quick fix that would solve all her problems, even though it was nearly impossible. Every scenario that passed through her mind was quickly rejected when she realized it would only make her look self centered and desperate. The tears continued to stream down her cheeks when she came to the conclusion that there was no quick fix here. It would take time and effort on her part to get the two most important men in her life to trust her again.

The door to the house slowly creaked open prompting Izzy's head to pop up and see who had stepped out. Uncle Carl slowly made his way towards his seated daughter, his hands in his pockets, his eyes barely glancing in her direction.

"This is all your fault, you know?" Izzy seethed as she stood up to walk past him and back into the house. She was cold and didn't feel like getting into yet another argument, even though the way things were going at the moment, it was pretty likely to play out.

"All my fault?" Uncle Carl shot back. He grabbed her arm and made her turn around to face him. "If I remember correctly, you're the one who jumped on Danny when he refused to answer you! Don't go placing the blame on me!"

"Oh, bull shit, Dad! You're the one who brought up him getting married then preceded to ask him if he was gay!" Izzy spat. She struggled to get out of his grasp, but he was holding her tight. "Just what everyone wants for Christmas, Dad, their Uncle questioning their sexuality in front of the family and someone from work! It's the gift that keeps on giving!"

"I only brought it up because I was curious," her father replied. Although he didn't like it when his daughter swore at him, he let it slide for the moment. There were more important things they needed to discuss before her foul mouth. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to make sure."

"You also brought up Aiden!" Izzy angrily pointed out, still struggling with her father's grasp. It didn't seem like he was going to let her go any time soon, but she continued to put up a fight.

"So? You were the one to keep it going even when Matt told you it was making Danny uncomfortable," Uncle Carl answered. He knew his daughter all too well. She loved to play the blame game, and being cut from the same mold, so did he. But unlike Izzy, he was far more experienced at it. He understood why she was doing it. After Matt had come into the house earlier that evening and quickly left after grabbing his things, he knew Izzy had done something to set him off. Following the young man but staying back inside the house, he could hear the final crushing blows of a relationship gone bad, knew Izzy needed a time out before he went out to talk to her. He also knew to expect her need to place the blame elsewhere, and gave her plenty of rope to hang herself with before going in for the kill.

"Ooh, don't even go there, Dad! I wasn't the one to bring up the last time he brought her over here! If I remember correctly, that was you! You were the one to mention it! How uncomfortable do you think THAT made him feel, huh? I bet he was just giddy having you rip his heart out like that!"

"I'm not the only one!" he started to get angry and raised his voice. He was to the point where trying to handle this situation calmly wasn't going to work. "If **_I_** remember correctly, it was you that mentioned the way Danny and Aiden used to be! And you were the one to mention the whole 'oh, they're probably on a break' thing! Way to toss his heart in a blender and hit frappe! Nothing tells your cousin, 'I love you' more than that, princess! So don't even try to pin this on me, Isobel. You had a hand in it too! It's that mouth of yours that's always getting you in trouble. Why haven't you learned how to keep it shut yet?"

Izzy narrowed her eyes and retorted, "It's not like I knew about Aiden! I was just teasing him like we always used to tease each other! What's the harm in that?"

"The harm in that is you don't know when to stop! Matt told you Danny was uncomfortable, you SAW that Danny was uncomfortable, and yet you kept going!"

"So did you! Why didn't you stop?" Izzy shouted back at him. "And don't give me that 'do as I say, not as I do' crap either! Don't make me feel guilty for something you were just as much a part of as I was!"

Uncle Carl sighed deeply. He was getting nowhere with her. This conversation kept going around in circles. He needed to get through to her, so he let go of her arms and calmly replied, "Fine, Isobel, I'm just as guilty as you are. Happy now?" She huffed and was getting ready to say something when he landed the final blow. "It doesn't change the fact that both Danny and Matt are gone now, and that you're ultimately responsible. You drove them both away because you're stubborn and selfish. I hope you'll learn something from this, Isobel." He turned and started making his way towards the house.

Izzy gritted her teeth, growled, then let out a scream of frustration as her hands balled into fists at her sides. She couldn't take it anymore. Everyone seemed to be leaving her stranded and it didn't seem like one person even cared about what she was going through. "I HATE YOU! I FUCKING HATE YOU! I HATE ALL OF YOU!" Izzy yelled in her father's face as more tears fell down her cheeks. She'd reached the breaking point.

Izzy flew down the front steps and straight into the snow. She only got about halfway down the front lawn before she fell to her knees and started to cry again. Her head dropped into her hand as her sobs echoed through the silent night. With her free hand she grabbed a clump of snow and threw it out in front of her, hitting one of the cars parked on the street.

Although this wasn't the first time she'd been this upset, it was the first time that she was realizing what her actions had done to the people she loved, and it was killing on her the inside. Back in high school, it was much easier to run away from the problem and hide in her closet, but being an adult, the situation became even more complicated. What used to work when she was a teenager was no longer applicable. She needed to grow up and face her problems head on, she just didn't know how, and that's what was really tearing her apart.

Having spent enough time in the cold and shivering to the point where her teeth had started to chatter, Izzy stood up, dusted the loose snow off her jeans, and headed back into the house. She vowed to stop running and face her problems head on, like she did with everything else in her life, and the perfect way to do that right now was to make a few phone calls, the first going to Matt. It was easier said than done, though.

Izzy fished her cell phone out of her coat pocket and sat down on the stairs in the foyer. She tried Matt's number once, but he didn't pick up. She kept trying, over and over again, but no matter how many times she called him, he wouldn't answer. By the tenth call, she finally decided to just leave him a message. When his greeting finished, she sniffled and said, "Hey, Matt. It's me… I was hoping we could talk about what happened. I've done a lot of thinking about what you said, and I think it's time that I finally pulled my head out of my ass and grew up. So, please call me when you get this. I… I really wanna talk about us… like an adult. Okay? Bye."

Danny was the second person on Izzy's list, though she knew it would be even harder to reach him after all the damage she'd done, but she'd try anyway, and keep leaving messages until he called her back, just like she would with Matt. Persistence was the key, and she had plenty of that. Dialing his number, she sat back on the steps and waited.

* * *

After having pulled into a parking space near the hospital entrance, Danny sat back in his seat and sighed. He'd held off this visit long enough, yet that didn't stop him from staying where he was trying to think of all the things he wanted to say to his brother. There was a lot on his mind, a lot he needed to get off his chest, but finding the right words would be the challenge tonight. 'Go with your instincts,' Danny told himself before finally pushing the door open and stepping out into the cold space made even colder by the pale blue-green fluorescent lights over his head. 

Ever so slowly he made his way towards the elevator and ascended to the eighth floor. Louie had been there for the last nine months clinging to life. The entire family refused to take him off life support, including Danny, who, after seeing so many victims in this same position, would normally do the opposite. But under the circumstances and the fact that this was his brother, he couldn't bring himself to argue, not with so many things they both needed to tell each other. He clung to the hope that his brother would wake up someday soon and be one of those miracle stories he'd seen on the news.

As the elevator silently climbed towards its destination, Danny's phone began to ring. Fishing it out of his coat pocket, he growled at the name on the caller ID and quickly put it on silent. 'Fuck off, Isobel,' he thought, but it kept ringing. He wanted to throw the thing against the wall until the elevator doors opened to his floor. Danny stepped off and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He'd continue to ignore it until he was damn well ready to talk to his snotty, inconsiderate cousin. Yes, it was harsh of him to even think such things, but she deserved them after what she'd done.

With the phone now in his pocket and silent except for the soft vibrations indicating he had a voicemail, Danny could make his way down the hall to his brother's room. He passed the nurse's station and got a quick glance from the women behind it. When they saw who he was and recognized him from his other late night visits, they simply went back to their paperwork without saying a word. All was silent except for the echoes of his feet against the linoleum floor and the soft beeps of the heart monitors and respirators from the open doors on either side of the hall.

Danny hated hospitals. They were a constant reminder of just how fragile life could be. Every time he stepped onto this floor, the fear of death would creep up on him and take hold, its long claws digging into his soul leaving deep scars. He knew his job had a lot to do with it, making him so afraid of dying, having to see so many dead bodies every day. Who wouldn't be afraid of death after what he'd seen? There were many occasions where he began to question life and death, the one sticking out in his mind being the diner massacre that happened three years ago around this time.

The crime scene was still fresh in his mind. Danny could even remember what he'd said to his boss that night as they stood there surveying the blood and gore, "I can't wrap my head around it, Mac. You get up, you go to work, see the people that you know, you talk, you laugh. You're living your life, then suddenly, boom. It's just over. Just like that, and you never even saw it coming." That night he'd been forced to take a good look at his life, forced to see all the things he'd done and hadn't done, all the happiness and the pain, and it scared him to think it could be over so quickly.

The night of Louie's beating, he was forced to look back at his life again and reevaluate it for the umpteenth time. But somehow it was different now that it was his brother lying there in the hospital bed clinging to life. His own death seemed insignificant compared to the death of his brother. There were so many things they had left unsaid, so many apologies and so much forgiveness. Danny had made peace, well, as much as he could at the time, but it never felt like it was enough. He wanted Louie to know he was forgiven for all he'd done, all the pain he'd caused. Hopefully tonight…

Danny paused when he reached room 807, taking a deep breath as he reached for the door and pushed it open. Although this wasn't the first time he'd been in this room, it always seemed to feel that way. Seeing his brother lying in the bed, practically dead with tubes and wires crisscrossing all over his body was a sight he hated seeing. There was no such thing as desensitization to something like this. It hurt like hell to see Louie that way.

'I'd trade anything to be in your place right now,' Danny thought as he stepped into the room and sat down in the empty grey plastic chair beside the bed. He stared at Louie for several minutes then sighed deeply before launching himself into a speech he knew was going to come straight from the heart.

"Hey, Louie… I know it's been a while," Danny said. "I've been busy with work and stuff… Alright, so maybe I haven't, and I'm sorry for that, but I'm here now." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "There's a lot goin' on around here. It's Christmas and the whole family came over to Mom and Dad's place for dinner. We missed you. Dad even mentioned you in the prayer. He and Mom are still shook up about what happened, but I keep tellin' them not to worry, that you're gonna be just fine because you're a fighter, like me."

Danny took a deep breath. It was hard for him to keep positive about his brother's prognosis when he himself didn't know if Louie would be okay if he woke up. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed the tears back with his hands. Crying was the last thing he wanted to do, so he started to talk just to take his mind off it. "I brought Lindsay to dinner with me. You don't know Lindsay. She's the new CSI from Montana. She's wonderful, Louie… wonderful."

Thinking about Lindsay and what had happened that day made Danny's mind switch directions before he could even blink, and without meaning to, he started to vent his rage. "I just wish Izzy hadn't been such an ass today and said all the shit she said. The nerve of that little…" Another deep breath helped to calm his anger. He stood up and started to pace the room, which also helped to keep him from exploding. "From the moment she walked into the house this afternoon, she couldn't keep her mouth shut. I swear, it was always about her and what she wanted. Never for one second did she ask about you. Never for one second did she stop to think about anyone's feelings except for her own.

"The first thing she did when she came to the house was assume that Lindsay was my girlfriend and she started harassing her about it. I let it slide, told her to quit it, but she just wouldn't stop. We got into a fight just before dinner over a lot of things that don't really matter right now. The important thing is we sorta managed to work it out, but then she got on my case about Lindsay, and I told her not to bring it up anymore. You know what she does ten minutes later?" Danny paused for a moment, looked at his brother, and kept going, "She brought it up again, and just as we were walkin' under the mistletoe. But, stupid me, I let it slide, gave her one last warning, and it came back to bite me in the ass during dinner.

"It wasn't just Izzy that got on my case then, it was Uncle Carl too. They started talkin' about Aiden… Aiden! God… What the hell is their problem? I tried to get them to stop. Hell, even Izzy's fiancé tried to get her to shut up, but nooo… They kept at it until I finally had enough. I just got up and walked out of there. I couldn't take it anymore. It was frustrating, being harassed by the two of them and not being able to get in one word."

With one more heavy sigh, Danny sat down in the chair again and ran a shaky hand through his hair. He looked over at Louie for several minutes and realized what he'd just done. "I'm sorry about that," he quickly apologized. "It's just been one hell of a night, Louie. I've had Izzy yell at me several times, Uncle Carl call me gay, and now I think Lindsay hates my guts after what I put her through. I don't know what to do anymore, especially when it comes to Lindsay.

"I really like her, and for a moment, I knew that she liked me too, but then Izzy had to go and screw it all up with her assumptions that I still had feelings for Aiden. And just when I'd finally gotten confirmation that Linds sees me as more than a jerk at work…

"What do you think I should do, Louie?" Danny asked and then he stopped himself short, a sad chuckle escaping his lips as reality re-wrapped him in its embrace. "I'm losin' it," he muttered, looking back over at his brother. "You're probably thinkin' 'even if I wasn't in a coma you'd never ask for my advice' and God knows that's true, Louie. At least it was. Now isn't the time for me to get all weepy again tellin' you how none of the past matters to me, that you're my family and we're bonded, no matter what," and he paused, feeling himself get choked up against his will. "But when you wake up things are gonna be different, you hear me?" He took a deep breath to compose himself and thought about what he'd said.

It was true... family meant everything to Danny, no matter what. And thoughts of that nature led him to think about the whole Izzy situation, not that it was far from his mind at all. He wished with all his heart that he could just say the same thing to Izzy, just call her and tell her, "You and me, we're family," and know that the words would be enough. But they weren't and he was kidding himself if he was comparing the two situations and finding more in common there than existed. Sure, they both had the common thread of an unbreachable distance but in Louie's case the why made all the difference. Actually, the same went for the Izzy situation, too. Louie and him were separated because of love, while now he and Izzy were separated because of selfishness. He gave it a moment, imagined what Izzy might try to say to fix things and his heart grew heavy as he realized that he could not think of one thing she could say, one reason for her behavior, that would make him feel like they had a chance of working this out. What a Christmas this was turning out to be...

Danny stood up and went to his brother's bedside, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it. "A lot of things will be different," he whispered. "You just hang in there and wake up when you're ready, alright, Louie?" He felt the tears threatening to burst, but swallowed them back.

At that moment, Danny made a silent promise to get things back on track, and the first person he wanted to make amends with was Lindsay. She deserved an apology for what his family had done, even if it wasn't from the person she really needed to hear it from. Now that they both had some time to think, testing the waters was the best way to figure out just how much salvaging he needed to do.

With one last look back at his brother, Danny slowly left the hospital room and headed back to his car. Stepping into the elevator, he pulled out his phone to find he had twelve missed calls and a voicemail, all from Izzy. He was tempted to just delete the voicemail without listening to it, but decided to save it for later. If he listened to it now, it would potentially set him off, and that's the last thing he wanted to happen just before going to see Lindsay. He needed a cool head if he wanted to work things out with her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It's been two months, but the muse finally cooperated long enough for me to finish this chapter with some major help from **roswellwbfan**. Sorry it took so long. I've had a LOT on my plate. But I've got some amazing news... My jerseys are now on sale at Champs Sports!!! That's right, you can finally buy them!! AHH!! I'm sooo excited!! I'll have pix posted very soon of a couple of them.

Anyway, I've also made some major changes to my profile. All the news will now be posted on my brand new **livejournal**, which I do have a link posted. I'm gonna try to keep up with that thing as much as I possibly can, so check it out every so often to see if I've posted anything new. But for now, I'll just tell you guys that there is a brand new story posted on my Dirty Martini profile. It's **Blindfolded II: Twisted, Tied Up, and Tangled**. Hehe. I hope you'll be able to enjoy that as much as the first one. In other news, I've got several new wallpapers on my dA site, so check those out as well. Uhh... What else? I dunno! But I'll keep you all posted as soon as I figure it out, lol. Thanks for sticking with me. I swear, there are a couple more chapters before I'm finally finished with this story and start a new one, so please be patient!

And now, onto the thank yous:

**roswellwbfan**: YOU FREAKIN ROCK! Seriously, it's like you get into my brain and find out exactly what needs to be said and say it like I never could! How the hell else would I have been able to finish the end of this story?? Those three paragrahs, ALL YOU! So you've got all the credit there. Thank you sooooo much. One of these days, I swear I'm gonna make it up to you!

**prplerayne**: Thank you for being the smartass that you are! And I mean that with all the love I can possibly give! Hehe. You rock! Those little comments between Izzy and Uncle Carl just sparkle now that they've been touched by you. Thank you sooooo much for your help!

**Shelbers**: For all your moral support, I thank you. Hey, who else do I have to sit there while on AIM and just make random comments with, especially concerning the progression of my story? NO ONE BUT YOU!! Hehe. You rock! Thank you!

Review Replies:

**fatkat**: Yep, Izzy definitely got what she had coming, and then some! And then in this chapter, she got some more! LoL. But in the very near future, Danny and Lindsay will finally get back on track with how they should be. I'm shooting for the next chapter, which should be quite interesting. Thanks so much for the review! Very much appreciated! And if you liked Blindfolded, check out part two... Now that's some hot shit right there!! Hehe.

**Prairie**: You're welcome welcome welcome!! LoL! Sorry it took so damn long to post more. Muses are fickle creatures, and life gets hectic. But hopefully this much longer chapter makes up for it. Thanks for stickin' thru with me and for the review. Much appreciated!

**molly**: LoL. Thank you! Yeah, Izzy is a real pain in the ass, but I'm hoping to get her rounded out by the end of the story, and at least give her a shot with patching things up with Danny. Tall order, but we'll see what happens. Thanks again for the review and I'm so glad you like the story.

**Heidi**: I updated!! Sorry that took so long. Life's been a bit crazy. But thank you for the review! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others!!

**The Lurkers**: You guys are TOTALLY AWESOME! OMG! I've got so many people who have put this story on their faves and who have put it on their watch list that I'm seriously amazed! Thank you guys! You're so awesome!! I appreciate your support just as much as the reviewers and I hope to hear from you soon.

Alright, so this is it from me. Again, for all the latest info about what's going on in my life and what's up with the muses, check out my livejournal. Have a great day everyone! Premiere week is upon us!!!! Just a few more days and we should be able to squee to our heart's content!! THANKS ALL!!

And, as always, stay tuned, more story coming soon!!

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


	17. Chapter 17

Lindsay left her luggage beside the door and flopped down on the couch. Exhaustion and the pain of a headache had finally gotten to her. From sun up to sun down, today had been a rollercoaster. Lindsay tried to find the right word to describe it, and all she could come up with was disastrous. She shrugged out of her coat and let it slide behind her back as she stretched her legs out in front of her and yawned.

'Poor Danny,' she kept thinking, shaking her head as she reached for the remote control to her stereo. What Lindsay needed now was a little rest and relaxation before she powered up her laptop and started searching for another way home. She wasn't about to give up that quest. After spending most of the day with Danny's family, she longed to see her own even more.

'Danny,' Lindsay thought again. She felt horrible for what had happened that evening between him and Izzy. It was a train wreck waiting to happen from the moment Izzy stepped into the house, the final derailment being the mention of Aiden's name at dinner. Lindsay shook her head again and rubbed her eyes with her hands. 'Aiden…'

The name brought back bittersweet memories. Danny used to talk a lot about Aiden when Lindsay met him. She knew she'd been her replacement and that he wasn't too happy about it at first. But that didn't stop Lindsay from envying the relationship they had. He always seemed to be raving about Aiden's cooking, especially her chicken parm. There were several occasions when he tried to get her to taste it, but Lindsay never dared, that was until the day he unwittingly got her to do it and mentioned after the fact that it was Aiden's cooking. Lindsay nearly spit it out, but did her best not to make it seem like she was getting ready to gag by the mere mention of the name.

Her working relationship with Danny was much more important than some petty jealousy she felt towards Aiden for capturing his attention more than she felt she ever could. To her it seemed that there was more to the Danny/Aiden thing than Danny was willing to let on. Lindsay kept those thought to herself, instead focusing on building a new relationship with him, one that was more professional and let her feelings fall to the wayside.

And it had been working up until the day they discovered Aiden was dead. Lindsay tried to keep the envy out of her voice while she and Stella spoke about her as they processed the car she was found in, but it didn't seem to work. "Danny talks about her a lot," she'd said, somehow managing to avoid the disdain altogether and ending up sounding more wistful instead. "Aiden. They were close. I wish I could have met her."

Stella had replied, "You would have liked her."

Lindsay managed to avoid the customary eye roll, instead focusing on the evidence she'd found in the car. Aiden was no longer at the forefront of her mind. Instead, Lindsay found herself wanting to put the guy who had done this to the poor woman behind bars. No longer was Aiden an adversary, vying for Danny's attention. She'd become a victim, and needed to be treated as such.

That feeling disappeared later that evening when she met up with the rest of her co-workers at the bar and they all shared stories about Aiden. Although it felt uncomfortable to be sitting there talking about a woman she'd never met, Lindsay soon began to realize that by being that outsider and letting them all tell their Aiden stories, she was on her way to becoming an accepted member of the team. She was finally becoming a part of the CSI "family."

After Danny's story of how Aiden brushed him off by telling him he was way out of her league, Lindsay felt a little pang of jealousy. Obviously, Danny had liked her enough to ask her out at one point, but after hearing him tell the tale in such an upbeat, almost giddy way, she began to revise her theory. Maybe he was over her; maybe they had become just friends. Still, Lindsay kept her distance. As much as she wanted to act, she kept pushing it off, afraid it was too soon, afraid of making a fool out of herself, afraid that Danny might not be interested.

Until today, she hadn't really known how he felt about her, but then he'd asked her to join him for dinner with the family, which she thought meant he wanted to take the next step. Too bad Izzy had to come in and ruin everything. Lindsay was left completely and utterly confused, wondering if she was competing with a dead woman for Danny's attention, and wondering if she really should have gone to dinner in the first place.

Unable to wrack her brain with any more thoughts on her relationship with Danny, Lindsay instead focused on finding her way back to Montana. Unfortunately, that required getting up from her comfortable position on the couch and picking through her carryon to find her laptop. Although the task only took a few minutes, it was still a pain having to root through the perfectly placed items and pull out the computer.

With it finally out of its case and sitting on the coffee table, Lindsay fired it up while getting a glass of water from the sink. Once it was up and running, she started trolling the web looking for any cancellations at the airport, the train station, and the bus station. She hit all the major travel sites followed by all the major airline sites, and finally, due to desperation, she picked up her phone and started dialing.

It took over an hour to finally get on the line with a representative, but it had all been worth the wait. Using some of her police muscle, Lindsay managed to secure a seat on the red eye to Montana at two that morning. She let out a relieved sigh, glad that the wait was over, but considering it was almost midnight, she knew she had to find a way to get to the airport.

In a moment of serendipity, her cell phone began to ring. After staring at it for several seconds, Lindsay finally picked it up and answered, "Monroe?"

"Hey, Lindsay…"

She stiffened. 'What timing he has…' Lindsay thought to herself as she sat back down on the couch and replied, "Hey, Danny…"

A long, awkward pause passed between them. Lindsay gnawed her lower lip. A nervous habit, she knew, but one that seemed to come out at times when she was unsure of what to expect. This was a complete surprise. She was definitely not expecting Danny to call so soon and began to wonder if he was going to apologize again or just try to talk things out.

"So, uh… How are you?" he asked, making small talk. Lindsay rolled her eyes and smiled. Danny was nervous too, something Lindsay rarely got to see, except for today. She was glad she wasn't the only one feeling this way.

"I'm fine," came her reply as she stretched out on the couch. In a few minutes she'd get up and put her laptop back into its bag. Right now, Lindsay just wanted a little r & r before having to deal with the chaos again.

"That's good…" Danny was having trouble with his words, and she could tell. He was usually a straight-to-the-point-no-sugar-coating-it type of person, but getting down to the matters of the heart he still had trouble, like every other guy out there. "I just… I wanted… I… I'm sorry for putting you in this situation. My family pretty much just ruined Christmas for you, and…" he started to fumble his words, but she quickly cut him off.

"Danny, what your family does isn't your fault. You don't need to apologize to me for them," Lindsay interrupted. "Don't worry about it. I'm not mad."

There was another long pause from his end. "Okay," Danny finally said, although it didn't sound too convincing. "So, uh, whatcha up to?" He was trying to keep the conversation going, bless his heart.

"Well, I was about to call a cab so I could make it to my 2AM flight home," she answered, finally getting off the couch to gather up her laptop and repack it in her carryon.

"You found one?" was his shocked response.

"Yeah, it took some NYPD muscle, but I pulled it off. I should be home in time to catch a nap before the post-Christmas celebrations begin."

"Well, you need a ride? I can be there in ten minutes to pick you up and take you to the airport," Danny offered. Still trying… and succeeding it seemed.

Lindsay couldn't help but smile. The man was tenacious. Maybe, just maybe he did have feelings for her after all. Well, that was something she couldn't afford to think about now. She was still trying to sort out her own feelings at the moment, and adding to the problem would only bring her more trouble. Lindsay decided not to dwell on it and replied, "No, that's okay. You're probably tired and…"

"No, no, I'm fine. C'mon, I'll be downstairs in a few minutes," Danny said, almost too eagerly.

"Danny, we've both had a really long day. You should get some rest. I know you have to work tomorrow morning, so I'll just get a cab…" she started to say again, but was quickly cut off.

"Lindsay, I'm fine. Besides, I couldn't sleep even if I tried," Danny answered. "Just let me take you to the airport. It's the least I can do after a day like today."

Shaking her head, Lindsay decided, against her better judgment, to give in, she said, "Fine, I'll be waiting downstairs."

They hung up with each other and she grabbed her luggage yet again, wondering why she'd even bothered to go home in the first place if she'd be lugging it back down again and into the same car as before. She would have been better off just going straight to the airport. But there was something in Danny's voice that told her she needed to give him a few more moments of her time. He was all too eager to be of assistance, a total turn around from the way he'd acted the morning before. It seemed like he was testing the waters.

After waiting a few minutes just inside the doorway of her building, Lindsay spotted that familiar SUV drive up and park at the curb. She sprang out of the door and back into the cold winter night. Without Danny's help, she unceremoniously threw her luggage in the trunk and climbed into the warm cabin. She just wanted to get to the airport and get on the plane. Home was eight hours away with a quick stop in Minneapolis to change planes, a welcome respite from the past week.

"Which airport?" Danny asked as he climbed into the driver's seat beside her. He'd been ready and willing to give her a hand with her bags, but she wouldn't let him. For a moment, he thought she was angry with him, but a glance in her direction revealed a subtle smile on her face. Whatever it was from, it eased his mind as he waited for her response.

"JFK," Lindsay said. And with that, they were off.

Silence permeated the large SUV almost as thick as the snow on the ground. Both Danny and Lindsay were lost in their thoughts. It took a full five minutes for Danny to finally pull himself out of his musings of whether or not to bring up his feelings for Lindsay so soon, and decided on talking about the mundane.

"So, who do you think's gonna make it to the Super Bowl this year?" he said without glancing at her. Lindsay was almost startled out of her thoughts when she heard Danny's voice, but looked over at him with slight amusement. "The Jets are doing pretty well, unfortunately so are the Patriots."

"Can't forget the Colts; they're doing pretty good too. I'd half expect them to win against the Bears this year."

"The Bears… They were good back in '86. Their quarterback this year is 50/50 at best. I'd be surprised if they even made it past the playoffs."

"You never know," Lindsay suggested.

"This coming from a 49er's fan…" Danny almost gagged.

"Don't start with me, Messer," she shot back, glaring at him with that ever-present smile on her face.

"Alright, alright!" he replied, giving up before she beat him at sports trivia. "No need to argue, Montana." She continued to glare at him. He merely smiled at her with that trademark Messer half grin she loved and hated. They were silent for a few moments before he added, "So, how did you get into the whole football thing anyway?"

"My dad," Lindsay answered, glancing away from him for a moment as she withdrew into her childhood memories. "We used to play tag football in the front yard and watch Sunday night football together. My mom hated it. She kept telling him to stop turning me into a tomboy. He never listened. I guess I'm a little in between now that I look back at it all."

"I think you turned out fine," Danny said matter-of-factly. It earned him a strange glance and for a moment he thought he'd been too forward. "Not every girl can pull off lookin' good and being able to remember stats on even the rookies."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she replied with a chuckle.

"So, what's it like in Montana this time of year?"

"Cold, snowy, fun…"

"I bet there's nothing more beautiful than snow covered wheat fields," Danny joked. That earned him a firm slug in the arm. He started to laugh when he glanced at Lindsay to find her scowling at him.

"Very funny, Danny," Lindsay said between gritted teeth although there was still a playful expression on her face.

"Seriously, what's it like?" he asked, dropping the sarcasm.

"Montana's beautiful this time of year. The snow is sometimes over a foot high. Where I live, you can see pure white for miles and miles. It's gorgeous," she described, her voice sounding a bit distant as she thought back to her childhood. "My mom and I would go out to the back yard every year and scoop up large milk pails full of snow and bring them into the house, heat them until they were boiling, add sugar, then make some of the best caramel candies. I wish I was there right now…"

Danny gazed at her for a moment as they stopped at a red light and saw just how much she longed to see her parents. "You miss your family, don't you?" he replied.

"I do… a lot," Lindsay said as she gave him a weak smile. "It's been a big change for me, coming to New York. I can't just drive out to the country and go see my mom and dad like I used to." There were tears at the corners of her eyes, tears she tried to wipe away before they fell, but one seemed to get through. It dripped down her cheek and fell onto the sleeve of her coat.

"You'll be home in no time," Danny reassured her as he took her hand and squeezed it. She smiled back at him, finding comfort in the small gesture.

His hand remained wrapped around hers for the remainder of the short drive. Within minutes they were pulling up to the terminal. Having taken a police vehicle, Danny was able to park wherever he wanted, a good thing because the snow looked as if it hadn't been cleared in hours in the parking lot. He pulled up to the main entrance and got out of the car, fully intent on helping Lindsay get her bags out of the trunk. This time, he'd been successful, and pulled her bags out just as she was walking back towards him to get them.

"Thanks," Lindsay said as she grabbed one while he grabbed another, and walked into the airport together.

"Lindsay," Danny called again, and once more, she turned to stare at him, this time puzzled. He had to say something, there was no way around it, at least not right now. He walked up to her at the counter and added, "Whatever Izzy said…"

"Is best forgotten," Lindsay finished for him before he got ahead of himself. She didn't want to hear it right now. Her mind was already spinning and Izzy was the last thing she wanted to keep her up on the flight home. They stood together at the ticket counter staring at each other, wondering what to say. After feeling shot down, Danny was afraid to speak about his true feelings for her, and it was obvious Lindsay didn't want to bring it up, so they continued to gaze at one another, their unspoken words leaving a thick fog of tension to pass between them.

When all the pre-boarding procedures had been finished, they stood together at the ticket counter staring at each other, wondering what to say. After being shot down, Danny was afraid to speak about his true feelings for her, and it was obvious Lindsay didn't want to bring it up, so they continued to gaze at one another, their unspoken words leaving a thick fog of tension to pass between them.

Lindsay finally spoke up and said, "Well, I'd better get going." She turned around and began to walk towards the security checkpoint.

Danny knew it was now or never. He wasn't about to let her get on that plane without knowing how he felt for her. The timing might have been off, but if he didn't say this now, he felt he would lose her forever and would never be able to forgive himself. "Lindsay, wait!" he called out to her. She stopped, turned around, and looked at him, that questioning gaze present on her pretty face. "After everything that happened today I can't even imagine what you're thinking, and I'm not going to try and sway your thoughts in any way. But one thing you gotta know before you get on that plane is this... I never felt anything for Aiden that compares with what I feel for you."

Lindsay remained silent, her expression turning unreadable. For several moments, Danny thought he'd just made the worst mistake of his life. His eyes dropped to his shoes for a moment before flickering up to glace at her again. What he saw amazed him. Lindsay was smiling, and it wasn't one of those fake smiles that countless suspects had given him, it was a genuine smile, one that lit up her face as she looked back at him with those lovely chocolate eyes. Danny smiled back, his heart leaping in his chest. Lindsay dropped her gaze and shook her head, grin still firmly in place. She opened her mouth to speak when they both heard the intercom announce that her flight was beginning pre-boarding. Locking gazes with him she lifted a shoulder.

"Obviously timing is not our thing," she said as he chuckled, "but when I get back we can talk more, okay?" He nodded and she breathed out a tension she had been unaware of holding inside. She returned the nod and got in line for the security check.

"See ya in two weeks, Montana," he hollered back as she walked past security and started making her way towards the gate. That playful Christmas cheer was back in his voice as he turned to leave the terminal.

When Danny got to the car, he pulled out his cell phone, ready to listen to his voicemail. Although Lindsay had just given him the hope he needed to make it through the next two weeks without going crazy, Izzy would probably send him back into that pit of hell she'd first put him in that evening. He hesitated for several moments, his thumb hovering over the call button before he finally pressed it and waiting for the network to retrieve his messages.

"Danny, I fucked up; I _really_ fucked up," Izzy said. "I know there's probably nothing in the word I can say or do to get you to listen to me, but I have to try, don't I? I don't know if you're gonna listen to this whole message or if you've already deleted it by now, but I have to tell you that I am truly sorry, from the bottom of my heart…" Izzy began to choke up on the other end while Danny waited in cold silence. As much as he wanted to delete this message, he couldn't. She was family, and albeit hated for her actions, he was willing to at least listen to the message before he deleted it. "I don't know if you'll ever forgive me for what I've done. I don't expect you to. I'm a horrible person, and it serves me right for being such a stubborn, selfish ass. Whatever you decide to do, I just want you to know that I understand, even if it means I'll probably never see you again. I guess this is goodbye, Danny. I'll see ya around." With that, and a broken voice, Izzy hung up.

As deep as the emotions went, Danny found himself unable to feel anything for his cousin. With the memory of the evening still fresh and raw in his mind, all he could do was hang up the phone and slip it into his pocket before getting into the car. Izzy was right, there wasn't a thing she could say or do to change what had happened, and he sure as hell wasn't going to forgive her anytime soon. It would take time, a lot of time, to get to the point where everyone involved could even begin to see what could be done--if anything--to mend their relationships with Izzy. But Lindsay had given Danny hope that their relationship could be repaired, and right now, that's all that mattered.

* * *

Yes, Paris was a schmuch, but she finally got it finished!! Chapter 17 is done, and now, onto the final chapter; the epilogue, the chapter you've all been waiting for!! Hehe. It's been a struggle to get here, but now that I am, I can truly say I'm sad for this story to be almost over. It's taken me almost a year to get here, and it's been quite a journey. I've met a lot of amazing people on that journey, and I'll thank them all next time around. Right now, lemmie just say a quick thanks to my betas:

**Prplerayne**: Thank you for putting the fire under my ass and helping me finish this story in less than a day, lol. Your suggestions really had Paris going, and I can't thank you enough for that.

**Roswellwbfan**: Thank you for finding all the minor imperfections and plot holes and helping me fix what I knew was off kilter, even when you were dog tired. You rock, chica!

**Sheblers**: Thanks for proofreading and keeping me on track, and listening to all my ranting, lol. It's always a comfort to have someone just sit there and listen when the world seems to be turning upside down.

Thanks to all the lurkers as well. You guys have been totally awesome! Just seeing how many people have faved and alerted my story makes my heart sing!

And now, onto other news... Since this fic is about to end, I've finally gotten down to business on writing my next one, which is called "A Photo Woth a Thousand Memories." I've posted a tidbit of it on my livejournal (the link is on my profile), so if you get a chance, please check that out and leave me a comment. I've also started work on my NY calendar for next year. Comments/Suggestions on that are also very much appreciated.

Alright, I guess it's time for me to shut up and let you guys check everything out. Have a great day! Stay tuned, more story coming soon!

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


	18. Epilogue

AN: (Yes, this is going before the chapter because it's important. There's more at the bottom, but I had to say something now, lol.) I want to give a huge shoutout to **roswellwbfan** for helping me write and edit this chapter. Without her help, I never would have finished this thing. THANK YOU CHICA!! YOU'RE THE BEST FRIEND AND BETA EVER!! Also, this story's got a new title. I've changed it from _Let It Snow_ to **_On The Verge Of Something Wonderful_**. Makes a lot more sense now than it did before. :)

* * *

Epilogue 

As promised, Lindsay returned two weeks later, well rested and happy even with Danny's words echoing in her mind. After having talked for hours on end with her mother about the pros and cons of starting a relationship with him right now, she realized that a little time needed to pass before they tried anything. The memory of Christmas day still haunted them both. There was no need to reopen fresh wounds. She might have (really) liked Danny, but having to put him through any added stress would probably ruin whatever they started.

It was something Lindsay discussed with him to a degree when she got off the plane that sunny January morning. He had been waiting for her at the gate, which made her heart flutter even though she knew what she had to do to him would probably hurt him just as much as it hurt her. Either way, she smiled as they walked up to each other and stood there, looking for the right words to say.

Danny was the first to speak. "So, uh, how was Montana?"

"It was great. I saw my family. We had a lot of fun. There was snow," came her simple, short sentence answers. There was a tension between them as they turned and headed for the baggage claim. Silence enveloped their walk down to the carousels and as they stood beside each other while they waited for the conveyor to bring out Lindsay's luggage.

Finally after nearly twenty minutes of quiet, Danny was unable to take it anymore. He'd been waiting for a chance to say something about what happened at his parents' place, something that would make her see he was in the process of forgetting and that he was moving past it. He wanted to make her see that he was ready to start something with her, that he'd been thinking about her ever since she'd left. "Lindsay, about Christmas…"

She wouldn't let him. "We'll talk about it later," Lindsay replied without so much as a look in his direction. Danny's head dropped. A sideways glance revealed the crushed look in his eyes, a look that echoed in Lindsay's heart. But she kept resolute. There would be a time in the future where they'd be able to talk about this, just not right now. It was too much and too soon. This was the only way she was going to get him to wait while she thought about it a little more.

"Okay," was Danny's barely audible dejected response. Seeing the pain on his face was much easier than hearing it in his voice. Lindsay had to bite her tongue in order to keep herself from spilling all her thoughts at the moment, but that didn't mean she couldn't give him a sign that eventually this would come to pass and that they'd have a chance.

Danny felt soft fingers brush against his hand before wrapping around it and giving it a light squeeze. His head shot up as he looked over at Lindsay. She gazed back at him, her chocolate eyes soft, her lips gently curved in a smile. She might as well have had her hand wrapped around his heart from the way it seemed to leap in his chest as he stared back at her, the warmth slowly starting to overpower the chill that had his body shivering from the inside. A smile started to turn up the corners of his mouth until they were both grinning at each other.

"I need time, Danny," Lindsay said softly. "I like you, I really do, its just that we went through a lot these past few weeks, so maybe its best that we're just friends for a little while before we jump into anything."

Danny sighed. Although it wasn't the answer he wanted, he was willing to do whatever she asked of him just so she'd be in his life. But she did say she liked him and that they could still be friends. It was something to hold on to while he waited for her, a glimmer of hope through the darkness.

* * *

The winter snows melted, giving way to the warmth of spring in New York, but Danny could still feel the chill in his heart. Although Lindsay hadn't become completely distant after the Christmas fiasco, she had kept him at an arm's length, friendly but guarded. Her flirting had dropped to the bare minimum. Because of that, he refused to speak to either his cousin or his uncle. He held them responsible for the rift they'd caused between him and Lindsay, and he was in no mood to forgive them until she came around.

Spring blossomed into summer, and although the weight of the situation still seemed to be a burden, it was lessening. Lindsay was warming up to him again, flirting with him little by little the way they used to before Izzy had dropped the Aiden bomb. But unlike before, they'd share a moment and she'd retreat back into herself for several weeks at a time. It made Danny wonder if he'd ever get the chance to convince Lindsay that she was everything, now that she was in his life.

It wasn't until a Friday morning in mid June that his torment would finally end. That day, he'd gotten an unexpected visitor as he returned from a crime scene with Lindsay, who'd just flirted and retreated again, so he was already in no mood to deal with things as they were. Stepping into his office after dropping off the evidence to Adam and the other lab techs, Danny stood at the door in absolute shock. Sitting in his chair was none other than Izzy, her face solemn, her eyes red and puffy. She appeared to have gained some weight as well.

Danny approached cautiously, afraid that if he blew up now, Mac would send him home for a few weeks to cool off. He didn't want that. Work had become his escape. It was something he could get lost in for hours at a time and not have to think about what was going on in his life. But that fragile balance was now in jeopardy.

"Isobel, what are you doing here?" Danny asked, keeping his voice in check and under control although the rest of his body tensed just speaking her name. He folded his arms over his chest and waited for her to speak.

Izzy's head bobbed up. "Danny…" she said, her eyes moistening. She was falling apart just looking at him. It made Danny sigh and give up the defensive posture he was holding. His arms fell to his sides as he leaned against the doorframe. It was hard for him not to feel something for her now even though he was still quite angry with her. "I'm so sorry," Izzy choked out. "I've made so many mistakes with you in the past and I don't wanna make anymore. I've had six months to think about what happened during Christmas, and every time I do, I just sit there and cry my eyes out because I've realized I'm an awful person. Danny, I need you to know, I'm soooo sorry for what I did to you and Lindsay. I'm so sorry I dug into you about Aiden. I should have listened to you. I should have stopped when you told me to stop, but I was so stubborn. I was so stupid. I know I don't even deserve your forgiveness and that you're better off without me in your life, but I just wanted to apologize for what I've done. I've been trying to make amends with everyone that I hurt that day, so if you see Lindsay, could you give her this?"

Rooting through her Coach bag, Izzy finally found what she was looking for. It was a small envelope with Lindsay's name on it. She stood up and handed it to her cousin. "I know she probably never wants to see me again and that if she did, she'd probably kick my ass for being such a bitch to her, so I guess a letter is better than running that risk," Izzy said as she stood face to face with Danny.

They gazed at each other for what seemed like hours. Tears continued to drip down her cheeks as she sniffled while his expression remained unreadable. Izzy pursed her lips and looked down at her shoes before glancing back upwards. The gaze Danny was giving her made her feel even more regret, and she added, "Danny, say something. Anything. I don't care if you yell at me or tell me to go to hell. Just say something!"

"Go home, Isobel," was all Danny could manage. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't forgive her. She had a ways to go before he'd ever even consider it. Yes, she'd finally apologized to him face to face. It was a start, but there was still a long road ahead of her before she could even get close to forgiveness.

"Okay," Izzy softly conceded, her head and shoulders slumping. She sulked out of his office, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her white hooded sweatshirt. Danny watched her disappear behind a corner. He realized that having Izzy show up at work was a step in the right direction for her. However, he also knew that she had a long way to go, especially if the means of her apology were any indication. As he let what she said replay in his mind he realized that she was sorry because of how she was now feeling. He shook his head--hopefully with time she'd understand that she needed to apologize not because of how miserable she was, but because of how miserable she made others. He could only pray that today was a step on that path, and that she had an objective person to talk to who would help her get there, if she couldn't on her own. He sat down and turned the letter to Lindsay over and over in his hands, becoming lost in thought.

"I know you said to go home and I will but I just have to say this one last thing. I talked to your mom and she said that you and Lindsay weren't dating, as far as she knows. And I know that it's my fault but Danny, you can't do what you always do and retreat into your shell," Izzy's sharp voice startled him back into attention as he swiveled around in his chair to stare at her in shock and disbelief. She paused for a moment, misreading Danny's expression "You know what," she continued, "I should go talk to Lindsay. Make her see that she shouldn't just give up, that you really like her--"

"Get out, Isobel," Danny's calm wasn't calm at all; it was ice. He stood up from his seat to make sure she got the point.

"But Danny--" Izzy began, "I know if I just--"

"GET OUT!" Danny yelled, and Izzy froze. Those within earshot froze as well. Danny couldn't believe what was happening. "We're done here," he said before he stormed off, weaving his way through the crowded lab without looking at anyone. When he made it to Mac's office he closed the door and slumped against it.

Izzy stood in the hall, completely and utterly shocked by what had just happened. She let the last few minutes replay in her mind before slapping her palm against her forehead in frustration and regret. "God, DAMN IT!" she muttered when the realization that she was still the same person she was six months ago hit her. "Damn it. Damn it. DAMN IT! I'm a fucking idiot!" The tears started to flow again. "Why, why do I keep doing this? Why can't I stop?" She let her hand cover her eyes as she walked back towards the elevators. Looking up momentarily and catching Danny's slumped silhouette down the hall, she whispered, "I'm so sorry," just as the elevator doors opened. Izzy stepped inside and leaned against the back panel unable to stop the flow of tears that continued to stream down her cheeks.

Unbeknownst to Danny or Izzy, Lindsay had heard everything. She'd put down the evidence she'd been processing just so she could hear the whole conversation from the time Izzy had come back to the moment she'd stepped onto the elevator. It had been a while since she'd seen Danny blow up at anyone, but the pain was quite clear in the way he just fell into the couch in Mac's office and let his head fall into his hands.

"Danny?" Mac softly prodded. It was clear the young man was upset, but to what extent he wasn't sure. He'd seen Danny come undone only once, the day his brother was nearly beaten to death. This was different. He just seemed frustrated and angry, not broken up.

"I gotta get out of here, Mac," Danny said as he finally lifted his head off his hands. "I need some personal time. I just… I can't handle being here right now."

Mac sat back in his chair and watched the younger man clench and unclench his fists. It was obvious something was going on, and although he had a strict policy of staying out of his employees' personal business, if it interfered with work, it was something he wanted them to tell him about. But it looked like today he'd bend the rules just a little based on the way Danny was acting. It didn't look like this was something he could talk about, so he let it slide.

"Go on," Mac said. Danny let out a relieved sigh. "But next time, I'd like a reason why." Danny nodded before standing up and leaving his boss's office. He headed straight for the elevator trying to avoid any unnecessary contact with his coworkers so he wouldn't have to explain his outburst. The gossip tongues were already wagging as he walked past a group of lab techs that whispered and pointed in is direction. Breathing in deep, he released his tension momentarily before stepping onto the elevator when it arrived.

Lindsay watched him go from behind her glass enclosed lab, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest having to see him go through so much hell. She wanted to follow him, get him to talk to her about what had happened, but she couldn't. Work was her priority at the moment, but once her shift was over, she was heading straight for his apartment.

And that's exactly what Lindsay did that night. She went straight over to Danny's apartment to talk to him about Izzy. She'd been holding it off long enough, and it looked as if he really needed a friend right now. Reaching his door, she knocked twice and waited. Inside she heard rustling, and Danny's muffled voice yell, "I'm coming." He didn't sound too good, and when he opened the door, he didn't look too good either. His hair was mussed from lying on the couch, his usually pressed light blue dress shirt now wrinkled.

"What do you want, Lindsay?" Danny asked. He was in no mood for idle chit chat, not if she was just going to leave him hanging again. He was ready to give up on her if she didn't come around, especially after his spat with Izzy.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," she said.

"I'm fine," he retorted, refusing to let her in, not just emotionally, but physically as well.

"You're not fine. You don't take time off to deal with personal problems," Lindsay firmly shot back, crossing her arms over her chest. Two could play at this game. "Come on, Danny, talk to me. We're supposed to be friends."

'Ha! Friends…' his mind screamed in response, but his lips didn't move. Instead, he reached over to the small table beside the door and gabbed the envelope Izzy had given him to give to her. "I just don't wanna talk about it. I'm sorry," Danny finally said as he handed her the note. "Isobel wanted me to give this to you. Just read it when you get home." And with that, he closed the door on her.

Lindsay wanted to get angry, wanted to scream and shout at him, but then she realized that this had been the way she'd been treating him for the last six months. Looking down at the little envelope in her hands, she slowly began to open it. She tore through the envelope and took the sheet of lined notebook paper out, unfolding it gently.

_Dear Lindsay,_

_I know we got off on the wrong foot, and I know that whatever I say to you right now, you'll take with a grain of salt, but I need you to know that I am truly sorry for all the pain I caused you and Danny over Christmas. I'm not asking you for forgiveness, I'm just asking you to understand._

_Mistakes happen in a moment and it takes days, weeks, months, and sometimes even years to make up for them. I ask you to believe that this mistake of mine did not happen in a moment of malice or competition, but rather a moment of absent-minded selfishness that I'd like to make up for._

_Had I known about Aiden, I never would have said anything, but that doesn't excuse my actions for what followed. You were right when you told me to go back inside and think about what to say. A simple "I'm sorry" really didn't cut it, and now that I've had six months to mull over all this, I've come to the conclusion that my relationship with Danny and with you will never come close to what I would have liked. I'll have to live with that, and live with the fact that I screwed all this up, not you, not Danny, not anyone else, just me._

_If it takes from now until eternity, I'd like the chance to make it up to you. Again, I offer you my deepest apologies for the way I acted and hope that one day we'll all get past this bump in the road._

_Sincerely,_

_Isobel Messer_

Lindsay shoved the note into her pocket and started to knock on the door again. "Danny, open up! We need to talk!" Her voice was firm and controlled, only loud enough for him to hear. When he didn't answer, she continued pounding on the polished wood surface, yelling, "Danny! Quit being childish and answer the door. We're talking about everything _tonight_!"

The door swing open as he said, "Jesus, Lindsay, wake the neighbors, why don't you?" She pushed past him and into the cool air of his apartment. It was then that she realized this was the first time she'd ever been inside and took a moment to scan her surroundings. He had a large spacious living room with a pool table to one corner and a TV at another, a large leather couch in front of the TV with a mahogany coffee table set between the two.

After closing the door, Danny turned around, his arms folded across his chest, and waited for her to speak. Lindsay merely stared back at him. She hadn't really thought ahead after her rash decision to barge in here and force him to talk to her. Several long, tense minutes passed between them as they waited to see who'd speak first.

"You wanted to talk, so talk," Danny finally said. He leaned against the door as he stared back at her. There was no malice or anger in his eyes, just frustration and possibly even pain.

Lindsay paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before saying, "I think you should read this," she said, taking the note out of her pocket and handing him the letter from Izzy. He stared at the letter in disbelief before shaking his head.

"That's between you and Izzy," he said even as he found himself dying to read its contents. Lindsay laughed and Danny looked at her in shock.

"You should see your face, Messer. Worst poker face I've ever seen! Remind me to bet against you every chance I get…you totally wanna read this so go ahead," she said, continuing to hold the letter in front of him.

He reached out gingerly taking it from her and reading it quickly. When he was finished he looked up at her and saw her gaze was on him.

"If we're ever going to have anything of a personal nature between us we need to be able to talk to each other about anything and everything," Lindsay said. "And I know that I have been putting off talking about Christmas but this made me see that we need to talk about it."

And Danny had waited so long to have his chance to explain but now that the moment was upon him he was lost as to what he wanted to say. Luckily Lindsay kept talking.

"And what I'm about to say could probably cost me a chance at a relationship with you but I don't want lies between us, so I have to tell you the truth…" She paused and looked at him, seeming to gather her courage. He nodded at her in encouragement. "I don't accept Izzy's apology. I think it's a load of crap brought on by her own guilty feelings and I think she has no idea what she should be apologizing for and I don't know if I'll ever be comfortable around her." Then she went white and her eyes widened but she stayed resolute. If Danny was going to get upset then it was better that she hear it now.

"I couldn't agree with you more," he honestly replied, looking directly at her. Danny pushed himself off the door and stepped closer to her.

Lindsay gasped, having expected any other answer than that one. "Really?" she couldn't help but say.

Danny nodded. "It's been painful for me to accept but these past few months it's become clear that although Izzy may have started on the right path, she's no where near a point where I'm ready to even think about forgiving her."

Lindsay nodded and then the conversation faltered. Finally after just looking at each other and looking away again Lindsay shook her head and laughed. "Okay, well I'm gonna go home now. Thanks for letting me in, and I guess I'll see you at work."

Danny let her get to the door before he said anything. "Yo, Montana," he called. When she turned around he was grinning. "Did I hear you mention something about a relationship between us?"

Lindsay's grin widened as she bit her lip. That simple little gesture made Danny almost saunter up to her, but he stopped just short of pinning her against the door. There was still plenty of room between the two of them, but they could both feel the sexual tension that had been radiating ever since they first met. It was back with a vengeance, and quite hard not to notice.

"Maybe," Lindsay coyly replied. She cocked her head to the side and gazed up at him with those big chocolate eyes. "Are you asking me out, Messer?"

Danny chuckled, that sexy kind of laugh that made her go weak in the knees. His right hand came to rest on the door beside her head as he gazed back at her with those intense sapphire eyes. Lindsay was practically melting. That little talk they'd had really loosened her up and made her see all the possibilities. Here they were, on the verge of something wonderful, their bodies only inches apart, and Danny was taking his sweet time answering her question.

"I dunno, Montana. After all, you've made me wait six whole months for you to finally speak up. I don't know if we're compatible anymore," he finally said with a hint of sarcasm in his rich, gravely voice.

"How about we test that hypothesis?" Lindsay replied, her hand finding its way to his waist and pulling him against her.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" Danny continued to elude her, his lips mere breaths away from her own. He wrapped an arm around her waist bringing her even closer, waiting for her to make the final move. They'd been playing this game of power for the past hour. The ball was in her court now.

With half lidded eyes and her heart racing in her chest, Lindsay wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "With a kiss."

Danny grinned. He'd been waiting for what felt like ages for her to say that. His lips finally closed the gap between hers for a feather light peck. He pulled away momentarily as if to ask "Is this okay? Are you liking this?" Upon seeing the fire in Lindsay's eyes, they dove back in for a hot, passionate kiss. She rolled her tongue over his lips and almost demanded entrance to his mouth. Danny happily obliged. Before long, he had her pinned against the door, his hands roaming over her supple curves, caressing her cheek and cradling her head, unable to get enough of her. She, too, found herself in a state of absolute bliss, unable to stay away from those sensuous lips even when her lungs began to burn.

After several minutes, they breathlessly pulled away from each other but remained wrapped in one another's arms using the door to keep them from falling to the floor. "Wow…" Lindsay whispered as her forehead fell against his chest. "So that's what I've been missing out on? Damn… I never should have made you wait."

Again, Danny chuckled as his fingers ran through her long caramel colored locks. "It was worth it," he replied, gently kissing her forehead. "I guess now that we found out we were compatible, its time for me to properly ask you out."

"What do you have in mind, cowboy?"

"Whatever your heart desires."

**Fin! **

* * *

That's right, everyone, story's finished!! And let me just say, I'm beyond relieved!! It took me almost a year to get to this point, and I've very grateful for all the wonderful people I've met thru the courst of this fic. All y'all are some pretty awesome people. Thank you all for becoming an important part of my writing process and my life. I hope to meet as many of you as I possibly can through reviews, so please stop by and leave me one! I'd love to personally thank you for reading my fic. I appreciate it wholeheartedly and I can't wait to hear from you again. 

Finishing this story is a blessing and a curse because it's been so much fun to write and get to know all these new people, but now I know I gotta keep up the good work with my next fic and whatever follows. But I think I'll be able to do it. I always set a goal when I write fan fiction, and this story has exceeded all my goals and expectations. I hope the next one will too!

**Cara-Jane**: I'm so glad you enjoyed the story and I hope you'll enjoy this final chapter of it. Sorry it took so long to post, but my muse had to warm up before she wrote this, and now that she's done, she just wants to bask in the afterglow before continuing with "A Photo Worth A Thousand Memories."

Give Paris some time, folks, and I promise she'll be back on track with something new for y'all.

I want to thank all the lurkers who have been reading but not reviewing. I hope you guys finally speak up because I'd really like to meet you!! ;) Please do! But if you don't wanna, that's okay too. Thank you, tho. You've been pretty important too because when I see the hits go up, I just get all giddy inside.

I'd also like to thank my two bestest of the best friends, **Shelbers** and **prplerayne**, who've been by my side thru thick and thin, snow, wind, sleet, hail, rain, and sunshine. Thank you for being my support group when I've needed it. I am always here to return the favor!

Well, I guess this is the last time I'll be signing off on this story. I hope you all have a wonderful day, week, month, year, and life. Happy holidays from yours truly.

Peace, Love, and Danny Messer!!

-DK


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